Silhouettes
by Sunny D Writez
Summary: An exploration of Bonnie's search for "the one". She always believed there was someone for everyone. Years of Falling in and out of love causes her to doubt her long held beliefs. When she eventually finds herself back in the arms of a man she'd sworn to let go, she questions if her soulmate still has yet to find her, or if she had already found him a long time ago.
1. Preface

**Author's Note:** **So, this is a fic I've actually been sitting on for a very, very long time. Well before TVD even ended but I didn't post because I didn't think anyone would be too interested in a fic that began with the characters back in high school since we were so used to them being grown at that point. If that is the case, I do want to let you know this story takes place over the course of a twelve-year period in Bonnie's life, so I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a HS story.**

 **This fic is ALL HUMAN/AU (Elena's parents are still alive, i.e. she never broke up with Matt), and contains multiple Bonnie ships. It's all about her love life, the ups and downs she experiences before she settles down for good with the one she's meant to be with (kind of like How I Met Your Mother). There will be romance, heartbreak, DRAMA, tragedy, all that good stuff, lol. And a good portion of this story is already written and only needs editing, so this fic will be regularly updated as long as there's interest so PLEASE review! And I'm posting the preface and the first chapter back-to-back.**

 **Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading! :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own these The Vampire Diaries or these characters. They belong to The CW. This is intended for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

Preface

Bonnie used to believe in soul mates. Since she was a little girl she just knew that one day, when she was a grown-up, she would meet that one special guy. The guy who was her one true love, the one she was always meant to be with, and they would spend the rest of their lives together. Maybe it would be love at first sight, or maybe it would start as a beautiful friendship that blossomed into an epic romance for the ages. She used to be a romantic that way, so young and hopeful, so naive.

Well, now she was a grown-up, and after a slew of failed relationships, heartbreaks, and tragedies, she had long lost faith in that philosophy. She had experienced what she thought was true love, epic love, adventurous and spontaneous love, even scandalous love. And all she was left with was lonely nights and trust issues.

When she had once dreamed of who her soulmate would be it hadn't been a specific picture, he was more a hunky silhouette with all the amazing qualities she looked for in a life partner. She knew she wanted him to have a gorgeous smile and eyes that made you melt when you looked into them but more importantly, he was to be kind, giving, attentive, brave, intelligent, humorous, loving, adventurous, and ridiculously sexy. The older she got, the more she started to question if the only way she would get all this in a man is if she created herself a Sim.

Bonnie had only truly been in love a few times in her life, and with each man that "soulmate" she'd always envisioned grew more detailed. As the relationship progressed, the picture became more solid, the smile more familiar, the facial features more recognizable, the personality traits continuously tweaked to fit who she was spending most of her time with, until she was almost completely convinced the man she'd committed to at that point was "the one", and that she had finally found her soul mate. Until sadly, inevitably it seemed, things changed and the picture regressed back into a silhouette and she found herself questioning her beliefs.

At this moment, as a 28 year old Bonnie sat in a dimly lit corner of Amore's, one of her favorite hometown restaurants, waiting for her dinner companion to arrive, she thought of the possibility that she was wrong to suspend her beliefs. Here she was, after so long, waiting anxiously for an old flame to walk through the door, to sit across from her and smile, to tell her everything she's always wanted to hear. But it wasn't just any old flame, it was... _him_. The man she had never expected to become such an integral part of her life, the man whom made her experience every emotion one can take without imploding, the man who's presence always seemed to linger in her life even when he wasn't quite around himself. Everything she went through back then, everything she was going through now, it all seemed to come back around to _him_. Her friend, her enemy, her lover...and quite possibly, the 'soulmate' on which she'd given up hope.

She looked across the room and saw someone approaching. Her heart skipped a beat.

'My god, he's gorgeous,' she thought to herself as he made his way over, his eyes fixed on her, a small smile on his face, and what could easily be taken as excitement twinkling in his eye at the sight of her. A million thoughts were in Bonnie's head as she stood, and they gave each other a warm, long overdue embrace. The feel of his arms wrapped tightly around her, in a way that seemed he never wanted to let her go, was so soothing, so familiar, something that she'd been missing.

Her heart had picked up a great amount of speed as they settled into the seats at the table, directly across from each other so she had no choice but to look him in his eyes. All of a sudden she was nervous, and she rarely got nervous anymore. Bonnie knew that whatever happened or was said at this table tonight would determine what direction her life would go in once she left this restaurant. It would determine whether she was right to give up her hope in finding "the one" or not. Was _happily ever after_ finally right around the corner for Bonnie Sheila Bennett?

The prospect of that being the case, sent her back years. She had to reflect on everything from her past, with everyone she'd loved or called a friend, on this crazy journey that was her love life, every part of it that had brought her here, to this moment...with _him_.


	2. Chapter 1 - New Guy

Disclaimer: I do not own these The Vampire Diaries or these characters. They belong to The CW. This is intended for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

 **Part 1**

 ***The First Love***

* * *

Chapter 1 - New Guy

It was the first day of school. Nervous freshmen and lackadaisical seniors bustled through the halls of Mystic Falls High. Among them were juniors Bonnie Bennett and her best friend, Elena Gilbert, navigating their way through the throng of students. Just as she had the year before, Bonnie complained of the lack of 'male real estate', i.e. hot guys, and shaded their classmates as they people watched before coming upon Bonnie's locker.

"Find a man, coin a phrase, it's a busy year," Bonnie quipped as she opened her locker, just before they were ambushed by their always bubbly, forever excitable friend, Caroline Forbes. Bonnie had known Caroline as long as she'd known Elena, and although she would consider Elena her closest friend and confidante, Caroline was a pretty big part of both their lives as well. After multiple hugs and greetings were exchanged, Caroline bustled off to her own locker and Elena and Bonnie set back off down the hall to find Elena's.

As they passed the main office, where a young man was standing and speaking with the receptionist, both girls froze in their tracks. "Wait, who's this?" Bonnie questioned, taking in the new merchandise.

"All I see is back," was Elena's response.

"That's a hot back," Bonnie said, seriously, and Elena chuckled and nodded in agreement. Bonnie intently observed him. He wasn't quite 6'0 but had the presence of someone much taller, he wore a black leather jacket, blue jeans, and a pair of shades that hinted that he possessed wealth and good fashion sense. His caramel hair was so perfect there was no way it didn't take time or a professional to achieve the look. She couldn't see his face but his aura was enough to tell her he had never graced the halls of Mystic Falls High before. She would've remembered that back.

"Well, the only man who's hot back I need to be concerned about is my boyfriend's." Just as Elena said this she locked eyes with Matt Donovan, who was by the boys bathroom talking to his friend and fellow football player, Aaron Teller. "Speaking of my man...I'll catch up with you in a minute, Bon."

"Yeah." Bonnie was barely listening and didn't move her eyes from the new guy's body as her best friend left her side. "Please be hot, please be hot..." She whispered to herself. A few seconds later, he turned and headed her way. Her suspicions were confirmed. He wasn't just hot, he was blazing. He breezed right past Bonnie, his gait more of a confident swagger, and she caught a whiff of his cologne. She instinctively started to trail behind him, just as every other girl in the hall turned toward him as well, including Caroline, who looked like a snack had just fallen into her lap. Bonnie knew the school's entire female population, and some of the male, were going to appreciate this new addition.

* * *

His name was Stefan Salvatore, and he tended to stare. Not at Bonnie, not any of the other girls who were craving his attention. He'd zeroed in on the beautiful Elena Gilbert because of course he did. Guys usually went for Elena first, and it always drove Caroline crazy. Caroline had noticed Stefan checking Elena out and reported it to Bonnie in an unenthusiastic tone. Bonnie had History with Stefan, Elena, and Matt, and she noticed him gazing at her. It wasn't leering, but a look of pure interest.

Bonnie slunk down low in her chair, in an attempt to hide herself from the teacher's line of vision, pulled out her phone and shot Elena a text. ' _HAWT-E staring at U'_. Elena smiled at Bonnie, and despite herself snuck a look at Stefan who gave her a soft smile. Matt caught the exchange and glared.

At the end of class, Matt got up, slung his arm around Elena possessively, and steered her to the door. He threw a look back at Stefan, who smiled to himself but appeared unperturbed. Bonnie couldn't help but appreciate Matt's inability to intimidate him. By the end of the day Caroline had yapped Bonnie and Elena's ears off about the new hottie, and all the information she'd managed to get on him. Her frustration about not being able to get his attention was evident.

Two more days passed and Stefan had managed to gain quite the status at Mystic Falls High, despite little to no effort on his part. He rode to school in his fancy, red convertible, wore designer shades that cost more than most people's mortgages, clothes that showcased his athletic physique, he walked the halls with a swagger, had a maturity most high school boys lacked, and had the audacity to be intelligent on top of everything. He knew the answer to every question that was asked of him in class. He kept to himself, didn't say much to anyone, and disappeared around lunchtime. He seemingly had no interest in anyone...except Elena.

Elena was at Bonnie's locker chatting with her about their plans for that night. After deciding on a group meet-up at the Mystic Grill, Elena turned to go. Stefan was walking by at the same moment she started away and they bumped shoulders.

"Sorry."

"I'm so sorry!"

They had spoken at the same time. A lingering look passed between them before Elena turned on her heel and continued on. Stefan hadn't moved yet, watching her go. Bonnie watched him a moment before speaking up. "Staring won't get you anywhere." He turned toward her voice.

"Excuse me?"

"The staring thing got old five days ago," Bonnie sniped. "If you want to talk to her, you have to open your mouth and speak words to her."

Stefan was now staring at her, as if seeing her for the first time. Then he chuckled. "I guess you're right," he said with a nod. "I appreciate your honesty..."

"Bonnie," she finished for him, holding out her hand.

"That's right, Bennett," he confirmed as he took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "We have History and Chemistry together." Bonnie was surprised by this. She didn't think he'd noticed her existence until now. He was more aware than he let on. "Well, the thing is, Bonnie..." she smiled at the way he said her name. "I don't go after girls in relationships. I don't want to be the cause of anyone getting hurt, especially myself."

"That's a sweet notion, but it's obvious you have a crush on her."

He chuckled again. "She's a pretty girl and I noticed, that's all. It's innocent, I swear."

"Is it really?"

Stefan observed her intently for a moment, seeming to study every single feature on her heart-shaped face. "You have incredible eyes, Bonnie. Do you know that?" The compliment was sudden and unexpected, and Bonnie felt her cheeks burn. She was thankful her mocha complexion didn't betray the fact that she was blushing.

"You can't look at me like that after you were just checking out my best friend."

"I guess it's my fault," he said. "I should've opened my eyes to what was right in front of me sooner." He started walking again, leaning in close to Bonnie as he passed her. "But it's innocent, I swear." Then he was gone. His proximity had sent Bonnie's butterflies into overdrive. Oh no, she thought to herself. She could not be developing a crush on the guy who was crushing on her best friend. She couldn't...

* * *

 **A/N: Yep, there was some good ol' Pilot episode throwbacks this chapter but the story is going in a different direction than the show ever went, and I hope you're going to stick around for the ride. (And before you ask, yes Damon is in this story. Of course he is.) Every review is appreciated! Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 2 - Chemistry

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or it's characters. They belong to The CW. This is for entertainment purposes only.

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Chapter 2 - Chemistry

Bonnie decided to keep her encounter with Stefan to herself. She didn't want Caroline or Elena making any assumptions. She expected things to go back to how they were anyway. The next day she sat at her usual table in the chemistry lab. Elena always sat with Matt, and Caroline wasn't in the class, so Bonnie usually ended up with Tyler Lockwood or Amy Bradley. But today another warm body settled into the stool beside hers.

"Hey," Bonnie said in surprise as Stefan pulled his Chemistry book out of his backpack, looking as comfortable as if he always sat there.

"Hey." He shot her a smile.

Bonnie looked around and saw both Elena and Matt gazing at them curiously. Elena raised her eyebrow in question but Bonnie shrugged her shoulder and turned her head.

"I thought a lot about what you said to me this morning," Stefan revealed.

"Really?"

"You were right," he said. "If you find someone interesting, you should talk to them."

"So, why are you sitting next to me?"

"Ssh, teacher's talking." Stefan's brow furrowed as he pretended to give Ms. Peterson his full attention.

Bonnie leaned toward him and lowered her voice. "Are you suggesting you find Ms. Peterson interesting? Because I hear she's getting divorced." Both she and Stefan laughed out loud and Ms. Peterson shot them a sharp look. They stifled their chuckles and when she turned away, Stefan started whispering to her.

"Are you like my Mystic Falls High love guru now?" He asked, jokingly.

"You can't be a love guru if you can't find love yourself," Bonnie said, half seriously.

"I find that hard to believe," Stefan retorted. "You're cute, you're smart, a little funny...just a little, I'm not going to give you too much credit." Bonnie smirked at his teasing. "If I can see that and I just met you and these guys can't, then they're just as dumb as they look."

"Mr. Salvatore," Ms. Peterson snapped. "Since you seem more interested in Bonnie than my lesson, I'll take it you already know the answer to my question." Everyone turned to look at them.

"I do," Stefan stated with a confident nod before reciting a perfect, textbook answer, forcing her to move on and pick on someone else. Some eyes remained on them but Bonnie didn't care in the moment.

"Yep, I definitely see sparks there," she joked quietly to him. "Or I should say...chemistry." Stefan tried his hardest to stifle his laughter again at her lame joke but was unsuccessful and earned himself a final warning from Ms. Peterson.

The sound of the bell saved them both from getting kicked out of class. They headed out of the room together. "I shouldn't sit with you anymore," he stated.

"Ouch."

"Your bad jokes are going to get me in trouble."

"Listen, Salvatore, I'm hilarious," she quipped. "It's not my fault your humor isn't sophisticated enough to appreciate my comedy."

Stefan smiled. "You're a bad influence, Bennett," he said. "But I'm starting to think I don't care." He parted ways from her and headed down the hall to his next class. Bonnie watched him go.

"Staring doesn't get you anywhere," he called back without looking back. Bonnie shook her head at his unwavering confidence and call back to what she had said to him earlier, and she walked away with a smile.

* * *

"So, I heard you and Stefan Salvatore were Chem buddies," Caroline confronted Bonnie as they walked to the cafeteria.

"Word travels fast, doesn't it?" Bonnie said with a shake of the head.

"Well, according to Amy Bradley, you were practically sitting on his lap and whispering in his ear," Caroline reported. Bonnie rolled her eyes at this exaggeration. It wouldn't be high school without gossip, exaggerated to the tenth power. And it wouldn't be MFH if Caroline didn't know everything immediately.

"Amy Bradley is a liar," Bonnie snapped.

Elena and Matt were waiting for them when they reached the cafeteria. All of them, including a couple other cheerleaders and football players, always sat together. By MFH standards, they were the popular group that everyone wished they could be a part of. Bonnie went for her usual spot between Care and Elena until she looked up and spotted Stefan headed toward the exit door. As if sensing her eyes on him he stopped as he placed his hand on the pusher and looked up at her. Giving her just the slightest nod, he turned and walked out.

"Actually, I'm going to catch up with you guys later," she said, stepping away from the table.

"Bonnie?" She ignored Caroline and headed for the door. When she stepped outside, he was leaning against the brick wall, waiting for her. He gave her a smile.

"Glad you came." He started walking as she fell into step beside him.

"Not sure why I did," she said. "Since I'm a such a bad influence and all."

"I don't mind being influenced by a beautiful girl."

She felt her cheeks burning again. "Why do you come out here everyday?"

"I like to be outside," he explained, as he walked to a large wooden picnic table on the lawn. "The weather is perfect this time of year."

"True." They settled down next to each other, Stefan so close they're knees were practically touching. "But just so you know, you can sit with me and my friends anytime you want when it starts getting cold. Elena will be there."

"With her boyfriend that I don't think likes me very much."

"Matt will be all right," Bonnie said. "He just gets a little jealous. You're not the first guy to take an interest in his girl."

"I told you, I thought she was pretty but she's not the girl I'm interested in." For a moment they were silent, both looking into each other's eyes.

"Watch out!" A football was suddenly whizzing at them full speed. With the ease of a pro, Stefan caught it one-handed.

"My bad, bro!" The sweaty perpetrator said as he approached.

"No problem," Stefan tossed it back.

"Nice catch, new guy," a cheerleader said from the table over. "Do you play football?"

"I used to but it's been awhile," Stefan replied.

"Well, we could definitely use an arm like that on our team," she stated.

"She's right you know," Bonnie agreed. "You should talk to Coach Tanner after school today, see if he'll let you try out."

Stefan nodded. "Maybe I will. And I'll get to see you in your cheerleader uniform."

"Watch it," she warned playfully. "I may be small but I pack a mean punch."

"I believe you."

Of course, all her friends had lingered in the hall when the lunch bell rang to catch up with Bonnie. Elena's eyes widened at the sight of her walking in the building, talking and laughing with Stefan.

"I'll see you after school," Stefan said before swaggering off. Bonnie tried to hide her grin as she approached her friends.

"But Amy Bradley was exaggerating, right?" Caroline sniped, sarcastically.

"Bonnie, is there something going on between you two?" The surprise in Elena's voice was clear and just a little insulting to Bonnie. She knew her friends were used to the hot guys going after them, and the hot guys douchey friends going for Bonnie just to bag a cheerleader. Bonnie had lost count of how many tools she'd rejected since the moment that guys started hitting on her. On the other hand, Care had been the first to kiss a guy and had many hook-ups and short-lived romances since, while Elena had pretty much been with Matt since childhood, leaving the boys to eat their hearts out. And everyone had been certain Stefan had the hots for Elena, because it would make sense.

"He's cool," was Bonnie's simple response to Elena's question.

"What did he mean he'll see you after school?" Matt questioned, like some over-protective brother.

"We have cheer practice after school, Bonnie Bennett, you better not skip," Care chastised.

"I'm not, relax," Bonnie said. "He's going to Tanner about trying out for football."

"Try outs are over," Matt stated firmly.

"Doesn't hurt to try," she said. "Now can you all chill out with the third degree." She smoothly changed the subject as they headed to their lockers. "We're all still meeting at the Grill tonight, right?"

* * *

Caroline was shouting out cheers but Bonnie was no longer listening. Stefan was jogging across the field, suited up in a football uniform and looking good as hell. Bonnie caught some of the other girls staring as well. Elena quickly shifted her eyes away guiltily, Tiki kept ogling, Andrea gave Bonnie a thumbs up, then Care started shouting at them to pay attention.

Bonnie was able to catch a little of the action on the football field, and there was no denying it, Stefan was good. After practice ended, Bonnie was gathering her things and talking to her friends. She spotted Stefan coming across the field toward her, told the girls she'd catch them later, and met him halfway. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. He was sweaty, dirty, his usually perfectly coiffed caramel hair matted to his forehead. It was a stark contrast to his normal put-together appearance, but somehow he managed to be just as hot, if not hotter, in this state.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"Well, I made the team," he reported. "Matt and Tyler don't seem too happy about it, and it seemed to give Tanner physical pain to give me the spot, but I got it."

"Congratulations, you're officially a jock."

He chuckled. "Thanks. How was your practice? I saw you prancing around, but you seemed a little distracted."

"Excuse you, I do not prance," she sniped. "I cheer. Don't worry, I'll be on my A-game come game time. Nothing will distract me."

"I might get distracted seeing you cheering me on."

"Not just cheering _you_ on, the whole team. We're all a team." Without thinking about it, Bonnie reached up and plucked a blade of grass from his hair. Before she could pull away, he gently grabbed her wrist and held her hand there. the move surprised Bonnie and the look in his eyes was suddenly very intense.

"Stefan..." Her voice started to crack with nerves. "What are you doing?"

He pulled her closer to him, then stopped, gazing at her as if he'd never seen anything quite like her. It was the most intense moment they'd had, and they weren't even speaking. After a few moments of lingering in that stance Bonnie managed to speak clearly.

"Um...I should get going," she said and he slowly released her wrist. "I want to get home and out of these clothes."

"If you don't mind waiting for me to get out of the showers, I'll give you a ride home," he offered.

"I drove here but thank you." She was suddenly cursing her father for ever buying her that damn Prius. Then she had a thought. "But...we're all meeting at the Mystic Grill tonight. You should definitely come. It'll be fun."

Stefan nodded. "Sure."

"7:30."

"I'll be there."

"As they parted ways, Bonnie was suddenly in a panic. Now she had to find something extra cute to wear.

* * *

Just as Bonnie parked in front of the Grill, a small convertible pulled up behind her. She was smiling as she got out of the car. "What a coincidence that we would arrive at the exact same time," she said. "Are you stalking me, Salvatore?"

"Of course not, the last thing I would want is to scare you away," he said. "It's just the universe bringing us together."

"I'm sure the fact that we're both late has something to do with it too."

Stefan opened the door open for her. Walking in the Grill, Bonnie quickly scanned the place and spotted her friends seated at a table. "There," she pointed them out to Stefan and everyone at the table exchanged looks as the pair walked over.

"Hey. You guys didn't order yet, did you?" Bonnie asked, casually. Everyone took notice as Stefan pulled out a chair for her before settling down next to her.

"Hey Stefan," Caroline spoke up. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I invited him," Bonnie said pointedly. "The more the merrier, right?" Everyone was being awkwardly quiet which irritated Bonnie. Why did they have to be weird about it? To alleviate the mood, she opened a menu for Stefan's sake, since the rest of them were regulars and never needed one to order.

"What do you like?" Bonnie was asking Stefan.

Care spoke up again. "So, Stefan, why don't you tell us about yourself? You're always so quiet at school."

"It's nothing personal," he said. "I've always kept to myself."

"Where are you from?" Elena asked. Bonnie smiled at their effort to be welcoming, minus Matt who was sulking at the fact Elena was showing any interest in this guy's life.

"Here, actually," he answered. "My brother and I were born here, but our parents moved us to Richmond when I was a baby."

"You have a brother?" Care asked, her interest peaked even more.

"Don't you live at the Salvatore boardinghouse with Zach Salvatore?" Elena questioned, annoying Matt further. "Is he your uncle or something?" Stefan nodded.

"Where are your parents?" Care inquired.

"Okay, we literally just sat down," Bonnie intervened. "Can we at least eat before you guys give him the third degree."

"It's okay, Bonnie," Stefan said.

"You really don't have to tell them all your business," Bonnie told him.

"Can't the man speak for himself?" Matt snapped. Elena gave him a sharp look which he ignored. Before anything else could be said, a waiter appeared at the table and everyone gave their food order.

"So you can order your own food?" Matt quipped as the waiter departed. "I'm shocked Bonnie didn't have to do it for you."

"Matt!" Bonnie couldn't believe how rude he was being.

"What's wrong with you?" Elena asked.

"Whatever. I'm going to take a leak." He got up from the table and stalked off to the restroom.

"I'm so sorry about that," Elena said to Stefan. "He's usually not like this. I don't know why's been so moody lately."

"I bet I know why," Care mumbled.

"Whatever, can we just please enjoy the rest of this night without any drama?" Bonnie pleaded.

Stefan seemed distracted. "I'll be right back," he told Bonnie. "I have to run to the bathroom."

She nodded and he left the table.

"You two seem cozy," Caroline observed before sipping her drink.

"Is this like a date?" Elena questioned.

"No."

"Seriously, because I was not planning on fifth wheeling it tonight," Care said.

"It's not a date!" Bonnie cried. "We're all just friends hanging out. I already told you, there's nothing going on with us. We're cool, that's it. If it was anything more I would tell you guys." Both girls gave her skeptical looks. "Look, he's a nice guy and he doesn't know anyone here. I thought this would be a nice way for him to meet people."

"Ok," Care said. "That's good to know."

When Stefan entered the restroom Matt was at the sink, washing his hands. Matt looked up and caught Stefan's stony reflection in the mirror.

"Bonnie, let you take a bathroom break?" He asked sarcastically.

"Do you have a problem with me?" Stefan retorted, his stance stiff and expression serious.

Matt stiffened as well and turned to him. "Yeah. Yeah, I do," he said. "You come to my school, start sniffing around my girlfriend, and now you're trying to get in good with our best friend? I don't know what your game is man but I don't trust you. And if you hurt Bonnie, you and I are going to have a much bigger problem." He started past Stefan to the door.

"Hey!" Stefan raised his voice. He wasn't done with the conversation. He stepped to the quarterback, invading his space. "I wasn't _sniffing_ around anyone. If I wanted her, trust me, I would have her. And yeah, I am trying to get in good with Bonnie, because I like her. If you think I'm going to let you get in the way of that, then you **will** have a much bigger problem to deal with. See you at the table." Giving him one last hard look, Stefan exited the restroom. He was all smiles again by the time he reached the table. The girls quickly ended their conversation when they saw the boys approaching.

Casual conversation ensued and everyone dug in when the food arrived. Soon the conversation turned back to Stefan, and how he was liking MFH. "Are you in the habit of breaking hearts, Stefan?" Care questioned. "Did you leave any lady loves back in Richmond?"

"I haven't dated anyone since last year," he revealed. "Now, I'm just focused on graduation and getting adjusted to being back in Mystic Falls."

"Are you doing anything tomorrow night?" She pressed. "There's going to be a bonfire behind the Lockwood property." Now she was giving him her best fuck-me eyes. "Maybe we can get to know each other a little better."

Stefan turned to Bonnie. "Are you going?"

"I think I might," Bonnie said with a smile.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Matt eventually stopped sulking, they ate, played pool, broke up a fight between Jeremy and Tyler, Elena chastised Jeremy once again for being high, and Caroline flirted shamelessly with Stefan.

At the end of the night, as they were putting on their coats Stefan approached Bonnie. "I was thinking you and me should go to the party together tomorrow," he offered.

"That sounds good," she agreed.

"Good. I'll give you my number so you can text me your address and I'll pick you up."

What was supposed to just be Bonnie texting him her address turned into fifty text messages exchanged back and forth between them that night. By the time she fell asleep, phone in hand, she couldn't lie to herself anymore. She liked Stefan Salvatore. She liked him a lot.


	4. Chapter 3 - Bonfires & Comets

**A/N: I can't stress it enough, reviews are LOVE!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, it belongs The CW. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Chapter 3 - Bonfires & Comets

The following night Stefan arrived the exact time he said he would. Bonnie had given him her Grams address since she was staying with her that weekend. He looked overwhelmingly hot in his expensive black leather jacket, and the way he checked her out suggested he liked what he saw as well.

"It's still pretty early," she pointed out. "Want to come in? Hang out for a little while?"

"Gladly." Stefan stepped in the house and followed Bonnie into the living-room where her grandmother was sitting in her favorite armchair.

"Grams, this is my friend, Stefan."

Stefan gave her a friendly smile. "Hello, nice to meet you."

Sheila Bennett gave the boy a once-over. "You're taking Bonnie out tonight?"

"Yes, if you'll allow it."

"Depends. Are you going to behave yourself?"

"You have my word, Miss Bennett."

She finally cracked a smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Stefan." She got up from her living-chair. "I'm going to bed. Don't keep my grand baby out all night."

"I won't."

Once she was upstairs, Bonnie and Stefan settled onto the couch and switched the channel to VH1.

"Do you usually stay with your grandmother?" He inquired, curiously.

"Sometimes," she replied. "She doesn't live far from me. My father is a traveling pharmaceutical rep so he's away a lot. I don't like to be in the house alone too much."

"Well, just so you know, if you're ever feeling lonely you can call me and I'll come keep you company," Stefan offered. Bonnie's brow raised. "And I mean that in the most respectful way possible."

Bonnie smiled. "You're different."

"How do you mean?"

"You're not like most guys our age," she said. "You're much more mature. The last thing on most these guys' minds is actually showing a girl respect."

"A girl like you deserves nothing but respect," he told her. "You deserve love, loyalty, happiness. Everything your heart desires."

Bonnie found herself at a loss for words for a moment. Then, "Wow, that's a broad statement for a girl you barely know."

"I feel like I've known you for years already, Bonnie," he said. "If there's one thing I'm glad about being back in Mystic Falls for it's that I met you." He leaned in closer to her.

"And because you were leaving someone behind back home."

Stefan sighed and fell back on the couch. "Is this really the time to talk about that?"

"I'm sorry to kill the moment but..." She paused. "It was going to come up eventually if this friendship continued."

"My ex and I broke up six months ago," he said, a note of irritation in his voice. "That's over and done with and has nothing to do with anything I have going on here. Definitely has nothing to do with my...friendship with you." His pause was very pointed.

"How long were you two together?"

He exhaled. "Two and a half years," he said. "Then she broke my heart, end of story."

"There's no need for the attitude, Stefan, if you don't want to talk about her you don't have to."

"I don't have an attitude." He quickly adjusted his tone. "I don't. Did I love her? Yes. Do I still think about her? Sometimes. Do I want her back? That's an unequivocal no." Stefan reached out and placed his hand over hers.

"There's nothing for me in Richmond. Hopefully there's something for me here."

Bonnie's phone started ringing. "It's Caroline, she must be wondering where we are," Bon reported.

"I'm ready to go if you are."

"Yeah, I'm sure Care is very anxious to get her claws into you."

In the car, Bonnie apologized for pressing him about his ex. "Don't apologize," he responded. "I'm sorry for getting all snippy about it. I understand why you asked. Hope I didn't lose any points with you."

"You're cool, Salvatore. No points lost. Just don't let it happen again," she added jokingly. He chuckled.

The bonfire party was in full swing by the time they arrived. Drinks were immediately shoved into their hands, weed was offered and refused by both, and Bonnie was pulled away by some of her fellow cheerleaders, who wanted all the details on her "thing" with the hot new guy. They were disappointed by her lack of intimate details, although some were happy to hear he was still on the market. When Bonnie finally managed to break away from the group, she spotted Caroline approaching Stefan by the fire. Bonnie paused and watched curiously. The conversation was short. Stefan walked away, leaving Caroline standing there, her face devoid of the mischievous, lustful smile it held only moments ago.

Stefan's eyes fell on Bonnie and he headed toward her. "You were able to shake off the clique?" He asked.

"They're not my clique," she said. "So you had a little one on one with Caroline?"

Stefan nodded "She's very forward. And she doesn't handle rejection too well."

"That's Care Bear for ya."

Stefan surveyed the party scene and quickly decided on what he'd rather be doing. "Want to go for a walk?"

"I don't know," Bonnie replied, teasingly. "Wandering off into the woods at night with a guy I barely know could be dangerous. You could be a serial killer or a vampire or something."

Stefan smirked. "Do I look like a vampire?"

She gave him a once over. "Actually, yeah, kind of." They both laughed and started their trek away from the bonfire.

"So, why reject Caroline anyway?" She inquired. "She's pretty, single, and pretty much down for whatever."

Stefan exhaled in frustration. "Are you really going to pretend you don't know why, Bonnie?" He asked. She raised her eyebrow. "Why do you do that? I'm here with you, I've only been spending time with you. Are you so used to guys picking your friends over you that you can't accept that I'm different." She hated to admit it, even to herself, but he was right. "I'm going to take a tip from Caroline and just be straightforward. I like you. I see a lot of things in you that intrigue me. None of these other girls have peaked my interest like you have. Even the pretty ones." He took both of her hands in his. "So, if you allow me to get to know you, that's what I'll do, and maybe this can be something amazing. Whether it's a friendship or something else, I want you around, Bennett."

Bonnie stopped gazed into his hazel-green eyes for a moment. She read the genuiness in them. "Wow. You're really good at this," she complimented. Stefan chuckled. "You know what I want." Bonnie declared. "I want you to have fun. I want to see you loosen up a little bit. Let's get some drinks in your system, Salvatore. Let's go." They linked hands and started back toward the party.

"There you go, being a bad influence again," Stefan joked. When they reached the bonfire one of the football players was upside down at the keg stand chugging while all the other teenagers cheered him on. Care was leaning against a tree, glaring at Bonnie and Stefan as they emerged from the woods, hand-in-hand. She watched as Bonnie poured him a drink. As Stefan was pulled into a drinking game with some teammates, Caroline approached Bonnie.

"Congratulations, Bon Bon," she said in a not-so-congratulatory tone. "You won."

"What are you talking about?"

"Clearly, Stefan picked you."

"Caroline, it wasn't a competition."

"Is that your bitchy way of saying I never had a chance?" She snapped. "You finally get one guy to like you and now you have an ego?"

"Okay, I know you're drunk right now so I'm going to take this as the liquor talking," Bonnie stated sternly.

"I knew he had those gorgeous green eyes set on Elena but you swooped in and snatched him up for yourself," drunk Caroline continued. "That was a twist I didn't see coming."

"Care, what is your problem?"

"You knew I liked him!" She cried. "You knew I liked him and you went after him anyway!"

"I didn't go after him!" Bonnie defended herself. "We casually started talking and clicked as friends. Why are you making this about you?"

"Whatever." Caroline tossed her empty red Solo cup aside. "I'm going to go make-out with Todd McKinley." And she stalked off. Elena appeared beside her and watched the blonde go.

"That looked tense," Elena observed. "What's going on with you guys?"

"She thinks I stole Stefan from her or something."

"That's ridiculous. You can't steal what she never had."

Bonnie sighed. "She did tell me he was hot," she admitted. "And that usually equates to, 'I'm going for it' with Caroline."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I like him, Elena. I really like him."

"Then I say it's your turn to go for it," Elena slid another cup into her hands. Bonnie smiled at her encouragement and headed off toward Stefan. She missed the way the smile disappeared from Elena's face at the sight of them together,

As Bonnie started yawning continuously, Stefan offered to bring her home, claiming to be tired himself. He continued to do everything right. He opened the car door for her, and walked her to the front door when they arrived at her Grams' house. As they bid each other goodnight, Bonnie waited nervously to see if he would make a move, unsure if she would let it happen. Seemingly, sensing her nerves, Stefan leaned down and placed a soft, gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Have a good night, Bonnie," he said. "I'll see you soon."

"You too, Stefan." She opened her Grams front door and stepped inside. He headed off and she watched him for a moment before closing the door and allowing a huge smile to crack her face.

* * *

The next day went as most Sundays did for Bonnie. She ate breakfast with her Grams, headed home to greet her father coming back from one of his many business trips, texted with Elena throughout the day, managed to make an edible dinner for her and her dad, then started on some homework. As she was finishing up her phone rang. It was Stefan.

"Hello?"

"Is this a good time?" She couldn't help but grin at the sound of his voice. If it was possible, he sounded even better on the phone.

"You caught me at a perfect time, actually," she responded. "I was just finishing up the History homework. What's up?"

"I was starting to miss you," Stefan confessed, "I wanted to hear your voice."

"Are you running game, Salvatore?"

"No, I'm being embarrassingly honest." From there a full conversation bloomed and before Bonnie knew it, it was nearing midnight. They both had school in the morning but neither seemed to care. Stefan talked about his life in Richmond and the year he lived in New Orleans. Bonnie talked about growing up in small town Virginia, Stefan talked about the death of his father and his absentee mother, Bonnie talked about lack of a true parental figure, Stefan even opened up about his last relationship with Katherine, the older more experienced woman that he fell head over heels for. He spoke of the devastation and heartbreak he felt when he learned she was having a relationship with someone else almost the entire time they were together.

" _Elijah._ " Stefan still said his name with contempt. Bonnie couldn't imagine this Elijah having anything Stefan didn't have and imagined Katherine was some kind of stupid hoe to ever cheat on Stefan.

"I hate to do this but I think it's time we both get some sleep." She'd been fighting against her drooping eyelids for a half hour.

"I guess so. At least I get to see you tomorrow," he said. "You don't live far from me. Want a ride to school?"

She pondered it for a moment. "No, that's okay. I have some things I need to do after school so I'm better off in my own car."

"And you're afraid all the chickens will start clucking if they see us come together."

"I care less about what people think than you think."

"Except Caroline, right?"

"She'll be fine," she said without much conviction "We'll be fine."

"Have a good night, Miss Bennett."

"You too Mr. Salvatore."

* * *

School went by in a breeze the next day. Before first period, Bonnie approached Stefan at his locker and they walked to class together. She found herself wishing they shared more than three classes. After second period an uncertain Caroline approached her, full of apologies.

"I vaguely recall being a complete and total jealous bitch toward you Saturday night and I am so sorry," she gushed. "Bon, honestly, if this guy makes you happy then I'm happy for you. I had no right to react that way. Please forgive me for being such a wench."

Bonnie's face softened. "You're not a wench, you're my best friend and we swore to each other a guy would never get between us. Of course you're forgiven." Care smiled and they embraced.

"I wanted to call you so bad last night but I thought you deserved a face-to-face apology," she said. "And you have to give me details about what happened when you and Stefan left the party."

"Nothing, he took me home."

"Did he kiss you?"

"He was a perfect gentleman."

Care's face scrunched. "Who's moving at the pace of a kindergartner."

"We haven't even been on a real date, Caroline."

"This isn't 1952, Bon, if you want to kiss him you can kiss him," Care rebuffed. Elena suddenly appeared beside them.

"What are you guys talking about?" She questioned.

"Stefan not making a move on Bonnie."

"He's being a gentleman, Care."

"Thank you Elena," Bonnie said with a smile. "When the time is right it will happen." They got to class and sat together, as usual whispering to each other whenever the teacher's back was turned. Apparently, Elena and Matt had been arguing all weekend, both accusing the other of acting differently over the past few days. Bonnie became distracted from the conversation when her phone buzzed and she saw Stefan was texting her.

' _I need you. I think I'm dying,'_ read the message. She knew he was in class down the hall.

Bon checked the teacher's back was turned before quickly typing back. ' _That's what you get for taking French with Ms. Long._ '

Less than a minute later, ' _Well excuse me for trying to get cultured_.' Bon giggled and Elena and Caroline looked at her.

"Who are you texting?" Elena questioned, suspiciously.

"Stefan Salvatore," Caroline answered for her. "Her boo thang." Bonnie blushed as her friends "oohed" at her like children and she quickly stowed her phone away when the teacher looked their way.

When the lunch bell rang, Bonnie approached Stefan at his locker and invited him to sit with she and her friends in the cafeteria. "They want to get to know you," she told him. "You're still a mystery to everyone." He obliged, much to Matt's chagrin. The tension between Elena and Matt was still thick in the air but everybody ignored it.

Everyone in the group confirmed they were going to the Mystic Falls Illumination Night that Thursday. The next day Bonnie had cheer practice after school. She spent most of it getting chewed out by Caroline for being distracted. She couldn't help it. Stefan looked so good, running around the football field, clearly a superior player to everyone else, including Matt who was the star quarterback.

Over the next couple days Stefan continued to sit with Bonnie and her friends at lunch, further integrating himself into their group and Bonnie's life. Matt even seemed to be becoming more tolerant of his presence, the more he saw how into Bonnie and not Elena he was. Stefan was sitting beside Bonnie in the classes they shared, and being friendly with her best friends in the other classes. He and Bonnie capped their nights on the phone.

When Illumination Night came, he instantly sought Bonnie out amongst the large group that had gathered. She was standing with Elena who was doing her best to ignore the looks Matt was shooting at her from across the field. They'd had another big fight and now they weren't even speaking to each other. Stefan caught the tail end of the girls conversation as he walked up.

"It's all becoming too stressful," Elena was saying. "I think I just need a break from the relationship for awhile."

"Uh oh, trouble in paradise?" Stefan stepped up beside Bonnie.

"You could say that," Elena replied with a heavy sigh.

"You guys can get past this," offered an optimistic Bonnie. "You've basically been together since you were kids. There's bound to be rough patches."

Elena looked back at Matt, who's face was even stonier since Stefan appeared. "I don't know you two that well, but I can definitely tell he loves you," Stefan added. "You're not going to solve your problems by ignoring each other."

Elena looked at him with a surprised yet appreciative expression. "You're right, I'm going to go talk to him." She headed off toward Matt and Bonnie faced Stefan.

"That was very nice of you," she told him.

He shrugged. "It was nothing."

Bonnie handed him the extra candlestick she'd been holding onto. "I'm glad you came."

"I won't lie," Stefan started. "This whole thing is all right but you're 99% of the reason I'm here."

They gazed at each other a moment, the flames of their candles slightly flickering against the soft wind of the night, then Bonnie turned to look up at the comet. Stefan did the same, standing so close behind Bonnie she could feel the body heat radiating off of him. He started spewing off some historical fact about the comet but Bonnie wasn't listening. She could hardly concentrate on the comet itself with Stefan so close in proximity.

They watched silently for a moment then continued their small talk. Soon, he took her hand and led her away from the field of spectators.

"Where are we going?" Bonnie questioned.

"I just want to enjoy your company on this beautiful night," he responded. He brought her to an area by the park building and leaned against the brick wall. "Look, you can see the it even better from here." She gazed up at the sky and smiled at the beauty of it.

"Wow, you're right," she said. She then felt hands wrap gently around her waist and pull her into his body.

"Is it okay if I hold you?"

Bonnie's breath hitched and she nodded, then relaxed into him. They admired the view and started talking again. Bonnie was surprised how comfortable she felt with him. So comfortable she wished she could spend the rest of the night with him.

"What time do you have to be home tonight?" Stefan inquired.

"My dad likes me home by 9:30 on school nights but he goes into his office and gets so into his work he hardly notices when I get home," she explained before a large yawn escaped her. Stefan chuckled. "But I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a long day and I'm kind of tired."

He smiled at her and held out his hand. "I understand. I'll walk you to your car."

"Okay, let me just say goodbye to my friends first." He agreed and hand-in-hand they trekked back over to the crowd. Elena and Matt didn't look like they were having that good of a time, they were standing close but their bodies were stiff. Caroline was yapping away to them, Tyler was nearby rolling his eyes, and Elena's focus was shifting toward Jeremy, who looked like he was in the middle of a transaction with the local weed dealer.

All of them took note of Bonnie and Stefan's linked hands as she told them she was heading home. "I'll see you all tomorrow." Stefan gave a wave as they headed away which was returned with the added looks of curiosity. They reached Bonnie's car but she hesitated upon getting in.

"As much as I hate it, this is where we say goodbye," Stefan declared.

"I had a good time," she responded. "It's been nice getting to know you."

He smirked. "Am I growing on you, Bennett?"

"Maybe just a little," she admitted. "Don't get too excited."

"Too late," he joked. "It's been an absolute pleasure getting to know you as well, Bonnie" Taking hold of her small hand, he brought it up and placed a soft kiss on the backside of her hand.

Bonnie smiled. "How charming."

His face grew serious. "You're a very beautiful person, do you know that?" He stepped closer to her. Very slowly he brought his hand to her face, gazing intently into her emerald eyes as he did so. "I can't wait to see you again, Bon." Then he placed his lips to hers in a tender kiss, slowly drinking her in. Bonnie closed her eyes, melting into his kiss as he held her, keeping the control and making her knees weak. When he pulled away, it took her a moment to open her eyes.

"Oh," was the only word she could muster up. With a confident smile, Stefan stepped back and opened her car door. "Drive safe," he instructed as she settled into the seat. "Be seeing you soon." And he shut the door. He didn't walk off immediately, waited patiently as she started the car up and pulled off. She looked into the rearview mirror to catch sight of him. He lingered for a moment, watching her go, before turning and starting away with his sexy strut.

Her phone was buzzing almost as soon as she walking into her bedroom. It was a text from Elena ' _R u home?_ ' Bonne typed back a quick reply, ' _Yes, what's up?_ '. Though she was sure she already knew what. Unsurprisingly, her phone started ringing.

"Hey, Elena."

"Spill, now."

Bonnie sighed deeply before replying with a broad smile. "He kissed me."

"Really?" Elena squealed. "When?"

"When he walked me to my car. We kissed."

"Be honest. How was it?"

"Oh my God," Bonnie flopped onto her bed. "It was good. It was really, really good."

"So, what does this mean?"

"I don't know," Bon answered honestly. "But I feel it, Elena. I feel that it's real."

* * *

 **A/N: I bring in Damon in the next chapter, I promise!**


	5. Chapter 4 - The Other Salvatore

**A/N: You guys are already amazing but it would be even more amazing if you checked out my new Bamon fic, Echoes. It's strictly Bamon, I promise. Until then, I hope you all enjoy this update!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. This is intended for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

Chapter 4 - The Other Salvatore

Bonnie pulled into the student parking lot to her usual spot the next day to find Stefan lounging against his tiny sports car, waiting for her. He cited a need of her face to be the first he saw that morning as the reason, for he wanted the rest of the day to go well. They embraced, he placed a soft kiss to her forehead, but didn't make a move to her lips, and they started off the school day together.

They didn't speak on the kiss the night before. Bonnie debated bringing it up, but didn't want to demand the "what are we?" conversation too soon. The classes they spent apart, flirty text messages were exchanged. In History class it was announced their next project required a partner and they immediately claimed each other, no hesitation.

"Careful, Stefan," Caroline warned after class. "You steal my best friend, I'll take you down."

Stefan inquired about making weekend plans but Bonnie had to unwillingly decline. "I'm going out of town with my dad to visit his sister," she explained as he walked her to her Prius. "She's in the hospital, been sick for months. He wants to say his goodbye before it's too late."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"But we can get together on Sunday," she said. "Get started on the History project. Presenting in Tanner's class is hell. Anything less than perfect and he'll rip us to shreds in front of the entire class. Elena and I learned the hard way last year when we went to Tyler's party instead of completing our speeches."

"We'll do fine, Stefan promised. "We can meet at my place. 2:00?"

"Sounds good," Bonnie confirmed. Stefan stepped closer to her.

"I know we haven't talked about last night," he started. "I want you to know that, I really do like you, and it meant something to me."

Bonnie raised her brow. "Shut it, Salvatore, and kiss me," she demanded. He didn't need to be told twice. They were kissing again, and once again, Bonnie's heart went racing. She could do this all day.

The sound of whooping and hollering reminded them they weren't alone and they pulled away from each other. A group of jocks and cheerleaders, that included Tyler, Elena, and a silent Matt, were nearby gawking at them. Stefan and Bonnie chuckled and shook their heads in slight embarrassment.

"I'll see you Sunday," he opened her car door for her. "Have a safe trip."

* * *

The Salvatore boardinghouse sat atop a large, sprawling, well-kept property. Bonnie had only drove by in the past years, but had never been on the property itself, let alone inside the mansion. As her small legs guided her up the lawn toward the front door, she admired the place. It was well-know that the Salvatores, like the Lockwoods, had money which usually came with being a part of a Mystic Falls Founding family. If Zach or his older brother Giuseppe, had ever had daughters, she'd be a shoo-in for Miss Mystic Falls.

Bonnie had arrived about ten minutes early for she and Stefan's study session. Deciding against waiting in the car, she decided to go to the door and just apologize for her early arrival. She knocked on the large, wooden door but no one came. She knocked a second time but heard nothing from within. Figuring he must not yet be home and she'd text him from the car, turned and started back to the porch steps. Then the door opened behind her. She turned back to see a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six, was looking out at her.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Bonnie," she said quickly, approaching the door. "I'm here to see Stefan. We're working on a History project together. I'm a little early but I can come back if he isn't home yet."

"Ah...you must be _the_ Bonnie." He opened the door wider. He extended his hand. "I'm Damon, Stefan's older brother." Bonnie gave his hand a firm shake. He'd only briefly mentioned his brother before and Bonnie hadn't thought much about what he'd looked like.

Stefan was very broad but Damon was just a bit leaner. In stark contrast to Stefan's caramel hair, Damon's was on inky black, and his eyes a striking ocean blue color. He was ridiculously good-looking, a trait that seemed common in all the Salvatore men.

Damon stepped back. "You can come in. He should be back in a minute."

Bonnie thought a moment. "Uh...yeah, sure. Thanks." She stepped into the house. Damon gave her only just enough room so she had to brush up against him as she passed him and she got a whiff of his cologne. She could feel his eyes glued to her as she strolled down the foyer, taking in her surroundings.

"Beautiful home," she complimented.

"Thank you," Damon replied, as he shut the door. "Pretty soon it'll just be me and Stefan."

"Is Zach Salvatore leaving town?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"He's supposed to be getting married, wants to move and start a family. Some crap like that."

"You don't seem too thrilled."

"Well, I'm definitely not interested in him having any kids running around here," he said, honestly. "This is a kid-free zone." He approached the wet bar, picking up a tumbler and a bottle of bourbon. "Want a drink?"

"Oh, I'm underage...and it's 2:00 in the afternoon."

"Don't judge," Damon responded with a smirk. "Even Stefan likes the occasional drink...ing binge."

"Excuse me?"

"So, what is it you guys are supposed to be doing today?" He questioned.

"History project," she responded with a furrowed brow. "We're study partners.

"Study partners, right," he said with a smirk. "Last study partner Stefan had, I walked in on them studying the horizontal tango."

"And what does that mean?" Bonnie snapped. She was finding herself becoming increasingly frustrated with the elder Salvatore. Was he messing with her? Trying to make her as uncomfortable as possible. Either way she didn't like it and was starting to not like him.

"Nothing. I'm sure you guys will...get a lot done." He gave her a wink before sipping his bourbon.

"I don't know what you're implying but-"

"Bonnie?"

Both Bonnie and Damon turned at the voice to see Stefan in the archway, seemingly confused about the scene he'd come home to. Bonnie's hardened expression melted into a smile. "Stefan! You're back." She approached him and they embraced, Stefan not relinquishing his glare on Damon.

"Was he bothering you?" He asked, plainly.

"Whoa, why would you assume I'm the one bothering her?" Damon asked, defensively.

"Because, unlike you, my girlfriend doesn't take pride in being a dick to people she doesn't even know," Stefan said, slinking his arm possessively around Bonnie's shoulders.

"You've got it all wrong, brother," Damon said, his blue eyes landing on Bonnie. "I'm sure we'll be great friends. Isn't that right, Bonnie?"

"Come on." Stefan turned and steered Bonnie away.

"He's a piece of work," she commented under her breath.

"You have no idea."

He waited until they were in his bedroom with the door closed before speaking again. "I'm sorry about my brother," he said. "He enjoys making people uncomfortable."

"I noticed but I can handle him," Bonnie reassured. "You never talk about him." She looked around his room.

"We haven't always gotten along," he replied. "I guess you can say we're working on it now." Bonnie turned and beamed at him. "What?"

"You know what you did right?"

"No."

She approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck, looking up at him with bright green eyes. "You called me your girlfriend."

"Oh, about that..." he joked.

"No take backsies, Salvatore. You're stuck with me."

He smiled down at her. "That goes both ways, Bennett." Then he was kissing her. It was the kiss that solidified their new relationship. They melted into it, Stefan holding her tightly, his hand wrapped in her curls. Bonnie didn't want it to ever stop. Their kiss intensified, then Bonnie suddenly felt herself being picked up. They were falling back onto the large bed, mouths engulfing each other. The heat was palpable. Bonnie's heart started racing even more when Stefan's hand started to travel.

"Wait...wait," she pulled out of the kiss, causing Stefan's brow to furrow.

"What's wrong?"

"It's getting too hot in here," she said, sitting up. She gently rubbed a bit of her lipgloss from the corner of his mouth. "As much as I love kissing you, that's not what I'm here for."

Stefan sighed, sitting up, the disappointment etched in his face. "Fine, I guess we can start on Tanner's dumb project."

"Your brother told me you're good for this," Bonnie revealed. His face scrunched at the mention of his sibling. "Getting a girl to your room under the guise of studying, next thing you know she's on her back."

Stefan groaned. "We've established that my brother's an ass, why would you listen to him?"

"Are you saying that's never happened?"

"I don't know what you want me to say, Bonnie," he responded with a frustrated shake of the head. "I'm not a virgin, I'm not going to pretend I am, and there's nothing I can do about that now."

"How many?"

"Are you serious?"

"How many girls?"

"It doesn't matter," he said. "None of them matter because their my past. I'm with you now. You're my future." Bonnie couldn't help but crack a smile.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound jealous," she said. "I'm not. I just want to be sure that this is real for you. I've never been with anyone before...ever."

"You mean this is your first relationship?"

"No, that's not what I mean."

Stefan's eyes lit up with understanding. He placed his hand around the back of her neck and guided her toward him, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I can be patient, Bonnie. We can take it as slow as you feel the need. You're worth the wait." Bonnie smiled up at him. _I made the right choice_ , she thought to herself.

"Thank you Stefan," she picked up her bag and pulled her History book from her backpack. "Ok. Playtime is over."

* * *

Bonnie hardly drove the Prius to school anymore. Every morning, Stefan pulled up in front of her house in his expensive convertible, ready to take his lady to school, prompting her father to question. "Who's that boy?" one morning after peeking out the window and spotting him out there.

"A friend," Bonnie quickly replied before rushing out of the house. Stefan insisted on coming to the door but Bonnie negated this, saying she wasn't ready for her dad to meet him yet. She'd even sworn her Grams to secrecy, claiming she would tell him when she was ready.

Bonnie and Stefan were easily Mystic High's most notable couple, dethroning Matt and Elena. The football games were twice as fun now, as Stefan was consistently kicking ass on the field, helping the team win more games than ever, and Bonnie cheered her ass off from the sidelines.

Needless to say, the two were attached at the the hip. Stefan was around so much he became ingrained in her crew, and Matt's unwarranted grudge against him slowly but surely melted away. They had a couple double dates with Matt and Elena and actually managed to have fun, although it was clear Matt and Elena's relationship was weakening as Bonnie and Stefan's was strengthening.

"I'm worried for them," Bonnie expressed to Stefan one day, as they sat nestled under a large oak tree on the MFH lawn, a spot they referred to as Oakland. They frequented Oakland during their free period on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and any other times they could escape. They would talk about their day thus far, get some studying done, snack, and steal kisses when no authority figures were watching. It was the highlight of the day for Bonnie. "They've had rough patches before, but never like this. It seems like everything becomes a fight now, and Elena's not the type to fight. I don't know how much longer she's going to put up with this."

"I'm sure they'll work it out," Stefan offered. "She told me she really wants to be with him, he's just making it a lot hard with his jealous ways."

Bonnie's faces scrunched. "She told you that?" She asked in a surprised tone. "When did she talk to you about this?"

"Yesterday in English class."

"Hm." Bonnie nodded. Matt and Stefan were cool, but Stefan and Elena had seemed to develop an actual friendship over the past few months. She knew they sometimes sat together in English, one of the few classes they didn't share with Bonnie. It only made sense their conversations would eventually turn to something other than school, football, and Bonnie.

"Why'd you say it like that?" Stefan inquired.

"Say what?"

"Hmm," he repeated in his best imitation of her. "Do you have a problem with Elena talking to me about it?"

"Of course not, I just didn't know she trusted you like that."

"People tend to talk to me about their personal lives," he expressed. "They say I have a trusting face." That Bonnie could agree with.

"I just feel bad for Matt," she said. "He loves Elena so much, he would be so lost without her."

Not too long after that, a sullen Matt cornered Bonnie outside of the girls' locker room after cheer practice. "I don't know what to do about Elena," he said in a forlorn tone. "I feel like we're falling apart."

"If you want the relationship to work you have to express that to her," Bonnie offered, giving him a comforting rub on the shoulder. "Instead of arguing about everything you guys should try talking things out."

"You're right, I just..." he sucked in a deep breath. "I don't know if she wants to make it work anymore. I can feel her slipping away." Bonnie really felt for Matt. He didn't know his father, had an absentee mother, a wild child sister he could hardly control. Elena had always been the one shining light in his life, and now that light was dimming.

This all prompted Caroline to throw a barbecue. Elena's parents were out-of-town, but her Aunt Jenna was staying at the house and was down for it and agreed to let them have it at Elena's. Caroline's goal was to just have a fun drama-free day.

By this time, everyone had learned that Caroline had shockingly and quite randomly been hooking up with Damon Salvatore. He'd dropped her off at cheer practice one day, in his vintage blue Camaro, shooting a devilish smirk Bonnie's way before peeling off. Care had bounced out of the car, appearing freshly boinked with a hickie the size of a quarter on her neck, which she was attempting to cover with a scarf, and gave a sly smile to Bonnie as well. "I got the other brother, hope you don't mind," she'd quipped before starting practice.

Apparently the two had ran into each other at the Grill one night and it was lust at first sight. Care claimed she'd gotten the best sex of her life that night, completely ignoring the fact that she too young for him and that sleeping with a man three hours after you meet him doesn't always set the foundation for a long-term relationship. Especially a man like Damon.

He happened to show up to the barbecue and when he and Bonnie found themselves momentarily alone in the kitchen she decided to give him a fair warning.

"Listen here, ingrate," she started in on him, brandishing the large, wooden spoon she'd been using to toss the salad. "I see what you're doing with Caroline and if you dare hurt her I will end you!"

"Put the spoon down, Judgy, before you hurt yourself," he quipped, using the nickname he'd donned her with one night after she'd admonished him once hearing stories of his womanizing past. He was being too braggy about running through a sorority and causing the house to fall apart. "Aren't you concerned Caroline might hurt me? What about my feelings?"

"You have to have a heart to have feelings," Bonnie responded, poking him in the chest with the spoon.

"Ouch," he feigned physical pain. "You can relax, all right. We're just having fun, Caroline knows what this is."

"Are you sure because she's going around town calling you her boyfriend?"

Damon's face scrunched. "I never once told her I was her boyfriend."

"It's Caroline, you don't need to say it," Bonnie educated him. "You've been taking her all over town in that car, and sleeping with her nearly every night, what is she supposed to think?"

"Is that what she told you?" Damon snorted. "Look, I call the girl when I'm bored. We hang out, she gives me head, nothing more, nothing less. How about you worry about your own relationship?"

"Why should I be worried about my relationship?"

"You won't have to if you keep your nose out of other people's business and in your own," he said. "Keep your eyes open on the right people, Bon Bon." He moved past her, bumping shoulders as she went and left the kitchen. Bonnie rolled her eyes and followed him out. She found Stefan and Elena by the stairs, sipping stolen beer and cackling about some inside joke unheard by Bonnie.

"Well, don't you two look cozy," Damon quipped as he passed by them, shooting a look back at Bonnie that she didn't like.

"Hey," Stefan said with a smile as she approached. "You okay?'

"Fine," she said then looked to Elena. "Where's Matt?"

"His sister called and he left to go get her," Elena explained. "It sounded like she's gotten herself into some more trouble. He said he'll be back as soon as he can, though."

"Come on guys!" A bubbly Caroline called to them from the living-room. Stefan slowly got up from the step.

"I don't like your brother," Bonnie informed him.

Stefan sighed and wrapped his arm around her. "I know," he patted her shoulder. "I know you don't."

Aside from a few instances of Damon openly flirting with Jenna in front of Caroline, effectively deflating her bubble, the rest of the night went smoothly. Bonnie knew part of Damon's dickish behavior may have been due to what she told him in the kitchen earlier. When she'd tried to warn Caroline against taking her fling with Damon in any way seriously, she'd nearly chewed her head off, so maybe the girl needed to see for herself where Damon's interests lie. It was in sex and sex alone. Not dating, and sure as hell not a relationship.

Caroline managed to be distracted by the good times. They ate, listened to music, played Charades and a hilarious round of Pictionary, and a bit of Just Dance on Kinect. Bonnie managing to outdance everyone on that one. Matt never returned but Elena hardly noticed nor cared.

* * *

Around Bonnie and Stefan's four month anniversary, she decided to bring her father out of the dark and have him meet Stefan. On one of the rare weekends he was actually home for dinner, Bonnie invited Stefan over. Grams was also in attendance, which helped both Stefan and Bonnie feel more comfortable about the situation, as Stefan had a great relationship with Grams. Rudy Hopkins was being a hard ass at first, but by the end of the night the two were laughing and yucking it up about sports.

"I think you won him over," Bonnie reported as she walked him to the door.

"I hope so," he said with a sigh. "If he hated me, it could come between us, and I can't have that."

"Nothing's coming between us," Bonnie assured before giving him a long, soft kiss.

Later that night, as Bonnie was settling into bed, her phone started buzzing with a text notification. It was Stefan. ' _What are you doing?_ '

' _Getting ready for bed_ ,' Bonnie texted back.

' _I miss you._ '

Bonnie couldn't help but smile. They'd just seen each other three hours ago and already he was pining for her company. ' _I miss you too baby. I wish you could be here with me._ '

' _So do I._ ' Then a moment later. ' _Look out your window._ '

Confused, Bonnie slid out of bed and went over to her window. Opening the blinds she looked down and her eyes widened at the sight of Stefan standing on her lawn, looking up at her. As quietly as she could, she slid the window open and leaned out.

"What are you doing down there crazy?!" She reprimanded in a loud whisper.

"I couldn't stand to be away from you tonight."

"If my father wakes up-"

"He won't. I won't make a sound," he promised.

Bonnie sighed. "Fine, come around to the back door." After checking that her father was sound asleep, she crept down the stairs and quietly opened the door. She motioned for Stefan to be quiet as he entered, then took him by the hand and led him upstairs to her bedroom.

"I can't believe you," she said as she closed the door. "This is what you do after all that work you put in to get my father to like you."

"Spending another minute with you is worth breaking his trust," he said before embracing her. They stayed like that for a long moment, Bonnie enveloped in his warmth, comfortably pressed to his hard chest.

"Are you going to spend the night with me," she inquired.

"If you'll let me," he responded. She wanted nothing more. They'd taken naps together at the boardinghouse, but had never spent an entire night together. Zach, who was to be finally moving away with his future wife by the end of the month, had implemented a no-girls in the bedroom after 10pm rule, a rule that applied to neither he nor Damon. Despite the fact that Stefan was as sexy as the day was long, and he'd made it known he would make love to her the moment she was ready, Bonnie had managed to hold on to her virtue. She wasn't sure how much longer she was going to hold out.

"Hands off Salvatore," she warned as they approached the bed.

"I'll be on my best behavior." He tilted his head to the side, checking out her large posterior in her boy shorts. "At least I'll try." He kicked off his shoes, stripped off his hoodie and made himself at home on her bed. Bonnie switched off the light and snuggled up beside him.

"Thank you, Stefan," she said softly.

"For what."

"For being the amazing guy you are," she elaborated. And she fell asleep in his arms.


	6. Chapter 5 - Suspicious Behavior

**A/N: I meant to answer some of your questions I got in reviews and DMs last update but forgot in my haste to post. Yes, I will be updating Enemy, Outsider, and Thief (the new chapter of Outsider is nearly done). As for Renegade, I'll give it my best shot but I'm not making any promises. Again this fic is ALL HUMAN, no supernatural/paranormal elements whatsoever. To the reader who asked if this is a Bamon or Stefonnie story, it's neither. This is a Bonnie story, with MULTIPLE Bonnie ships throughout, which means if there is anyone you've ever even briefly imagined her with you'll probably see it in some form during this story, and some characters that probably never even crossed your mind to have interact with Bonnie, lol. Anyways, on to the update. Please don't curse me out too badly after reading. A writer's gotta do what a writer's gotta do...**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, it belongs to The CW. This is intended for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Suspicious Behavior

Stefan accidentally left his hoodie at her home and she wore it to school on Monday. Observing that it looked better on her than him, he allowed her to keep it, and she wore it frequently. Their sleep-overs became more frequent as well. Bonnie got caught creeping out of his room one morning.

"We wouldn't be breaking house rules, now would we?" Damon asked with a devilish smirk.

Bonnie huffed. "Sorry, we thought the rules left when Zach did."

"Right, which is why you're sneaking out," Damon sniped, sarcastically. "Only rule I have, Bon Bon, wrap it up, because I'm not going to be taking care of any broody, judgy babies." Bonnie rolled her eyes as he stalked away. She wasn't going to bother telling him she and Stefan weren't having sex yet. He wouldn't believe her anyway.

One night, after Aaron Teller's house party, things did get friskier between the two of them than usual. After being dropped off at the boardinghouse by the designated driver, Bonnie and Stefan toppled onto Stefan's bed, making out very aggressively. Although not drunk, both had alcohol in their system and a burning desire for each other's hot bodies.

Their hands were everywhere, but Bonnie's delicate fingers seemed to be lingering more on a certain hardened area of his body than anywhere else. "You want to see it?" Stefan asked in a rough whisper. She didn't answer, just looked at him expectantly. Stefan took the hint and slowly unzipped his pants, allowing his erection to spring free.

She just stared for a moment. She had felt it through his clothes before, but had never laid eyes on it and there was more of it than she expected. "Touch it," Stefan instructed. She complied, lightly running her fingers up and down his enlarged rod.

"Like this?" She asked in a soft whisper.

"That's good," he responded gruffly.

"How about this?" She continued and Stefan groaned. Her small hand was soon fully wrapped around him, and Stefan knew if she kept at it he would burst. He cursed to himself as she played with him, stroked him, becoming more comfortable and familiar with the most intimate part of him.

"What if I-" Before Bonnie could finish her sexy inquiry, the door was being thrown open. Bonnie shrieked and both scrambled to cover up Stefan's exposed parts.

"Whoops, didn't know you were home," said Damon.

"What the hell are you doing?" Stefan shouted angrily.

"A bottle of my bourbon is missing," he explained. "I came to get it back."

"No one has your nasty ass bourbon!" Stefan yelled. "Get out!" Stefan groaned in frustration and fell back on the bed once his brother closed the door.

"Why didn't you lock the door?" Bonnie chastised.

"I thought I had." He knew the mood was ruined and he would probably be rounding no more bases that night. "I'm so sorry, babe. I'm sorry my brother's a fucking idiot."

"It's fine." Bonnie lay back as well. "Things might have gone a little too far if he hadn't interrupted. Let's just go to sleep." Bonnie suggested, snuggling up next to him. This made Stefan groan even more internally. Aside from the first fifteen years of his life, he'd never gone this long without getting laid, and it seemed like everything Bonnie said and did lately turned him on. He knew she was worth the wait, but who knew the wait would be this excruciating.

* * *

The next morning Bonnie awoke to a raging headache."Please, baby, I need Advil," she pleaded to Stefan.

"I'm so sorry but I'm out," he said. "I'll run to the store right now and get you some, okay?"

"Okay," Bonnie said gratefully. He quickly dressed.

"I'll be right back," he promised, giving her a kiss on the forehead. The door was open, and Damon was walking by at this moment. He peered in curiously.

"What's up with Judgy?" He inquired as Stefan stepped into the hall.

"She's not feeling well so please, please don't bother her," Stefan said firmly.

"Moi?" Damon feigned innocence. "I would never." Stefan gave him an annoyed look before turning away and making a swift exit. Damon leaned on the doorframe and looked in on his brother's girlfriend.

"Party a little too hard last night."

"It's just a headache, not a hangover," Bonnie responded in a bothered tone. She groaned as Damon entered the room and approached her. "Please Damon you're only going to make it worse." He ignored her and perched himself on the edge of the bed.

"You know, there was this tea my mom used to make for me and Stefan whenever we got sick," Damon revealed. "I called it Lily's Potion. No matter what the affliction, headache, cold, stomachache, it worked 99% of the time."

"Are you telling me this because you have some or..."

"I can make some appear," he offered. "But there's a condition."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Of course there is."

"We call a truce," he said. "Start over. We didn't get off on the best foot, but who knows, Bon Bon, maybe we can be the best of friends."

"I'd rather die of a migraine."

"Ouch."

While Damon went off to brew some of this tea for her, despite the fact she hadn't quite agreed to his terms, she took a look around Stefan's room. She'd had the sinking realization she'd left her charger at home and her cellphone battery had long been in the red. She and Stefan had the same phone but she had no idea where he kept his charger. Scooting over to his side of the bed, she pulled open the drawer. She did spot the charger, along with an array of other things. One thing that immediately stood out was a photo of a young woman and two small boys. Bonnie had never been a snoop but curiosity got the best of her and she picked up the photo to get a closer look.

The woman was strikingly beautiful, with long dark hair, and brilliant blue eyes, eyes that matched those of the elder Salvatore brother. She was sitting in a chair, and beside her with his hand on her shoulder, was a handsome boy of about nine or ten, and in her lap was an adorable toddler. Bonnie smiled as the boy was definitely Damon and the small child was undoubtedly Stefan. The photo was clearly taken during happier times, when their mother was still a part of their life. She placed the photo back in the drawer, next to a small jewelry box.

Bonnie knew she should just grab the charger and close the drawer but the peek into Stefan's life was too tempting. She didn't take the jewelry box out, but opened the top to see a necklace with a silver engraved emblem lying on the velvet, when she was quickly distracted by something else. She had spotted the corner of another picture poking out from under one of Stefan's favorite books, The Alchemist. She pulled it out and saw it was a picture of a teenage girl she didn't recognize. She was ridiculously beautiful, with long, curly, golden blond hair, and wide blue eyes. She was smiling brightly, an almost flirty twinkle in her eyes as she looked not into the camera but past it, to the person holding it.

"That would be the Katherine von Swartzschild." The sudden sound of Damon's voice entering the room startled Bonnie. "Stefan's first love and and first heartbreak." He seemed unperturbed to catch her snooping as he sat her steaming cup of tea on the nightstand and settled down beside her on the bed.

"Are you serious?" Bonnie asked, incredulously. " _This_ is Katherine." Damon nodded. "Why does he still have this picture?"

"Who ever knows with Stefan," Damon said with a shrug. "I distinctly remember him throwing all of her stuff into the fireplace and watching it burn. I guess this one just...slipped through the cracks." Bonnie made a face. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Who said I was worried?"

"Those big, green anime eyes betray you, Judgy," he responded. "Drink the tea before it gets cold." Bonnie put the picture down and did as she was told, blowing on the steaming liquid before taking a sip. She experienced an immediate warm, soothing feeling as she drank.

"This is really good," she stated, impressed. She peered at Damon over her teacup then sighed deeply before setting it aside. "It's just...she's the complete opposite of me. If that's his type, what is he even doing with me?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "I took you to be a lot of things but never insecure."

"Damon, I'm a 5'3, dark-haired, Black girl. she's the opposite on every count. I'm not insecure, I'm confused."

"The Salvatore men don't have a type," Damon explained. "We just love women. My Uncle Zach was with this hot Japanese chick for like ten years, now he just married that gorgeous Black girl from the Channel 8 News. I've had my fair share of every type of woman, and Stefan...Stefan tried to have this phase where he used girls for one thing, but it's not him. He's a romantic. Yes, Katherine was hot, and she had a nice body, and she spoke with this cute German accent that even made me wanna..." Damon trailed off at the look on Bonnie's face. "My point is none of that mattered, she made Stefan miserable. He would never go back to her, if anything that picture just reminds him of how much better he's doing since he left her. You may get on every, single nerve I have but I see how annoyingly happy you make my brother. And you're not an evil bitch. That alone makes you an upgrade from Katherine."

"I think you just accidentally complimented me, Damon."

Damon smirked. "Don't get used to it. Now, finish your tea."

* * *

When Stefan returned, Bonnie was propped up on the bed with his down pillows, texting on her phone, and the color returned to her cheeks. The difference from when he'd left was apparent. "This isn't the sight I was expecting," he said, sitting beside her.

"Damon gave me something he called Lily's Potion," she revealed. "It's starting to kick in, my head isn't throbbing as much, What took you so long?"

"I actually ran into Elena and Jenna at the drug store," he revealed as he pulled the tylenol from the bag. "We got to talking and I lost track of time. Sorry, babe."

"I guess you're forgiven."

"Elena wants us to meet at the Grill tonight," he revealed. "You, me, Caroline, Matt possibly Tyler."

Bonnie nodded. "Sounds fun." Stefan then noticed his charger on the bed and his nightstand drawer half open. Bonnie followed his eye line and knew there was no choice but to confess. "Yeah, I looked in your nightstand. My phone was about to die." Stefan nodded but didn't say anything. "You don't mind, do you?"

"A little bit," he said. "But only because there was one thing I didn't want you to see yet and now I'm pretty sure you have." Bonnie assumed he was speaking of Katherine's photo and was about to tell him he had nothing to worry about, she wasn't angry he'd kept it, but he stuck his hand into the drawer and instead pulled out the jewelry box containing the necklace she'd peeked at earlier.

Bonnie sighed. "I did see it. I'm so sorry, Stefan, I wasn't trying to look through your things -"

"It's okay, he said, cutting her off. "This is just something I've had for awhile, it's kind of a family heirloom. I've never given it to anyone but I decided I wanted you to have it."

"Oh, Stefan..."

"I was going to wait until our six month anniversary but I think might be even better," he declared.

"I'm sorry I ruined your surprise."

"It's fine, babe," he said with a smile. "Would you wear this for me, Bonnie?"

"It's beautiful, hon. Of course I'll wear it."

His smile widened as she turned her back to him. She moved her hair to the side as he gently placed the unique piece of jewelry around her neck, clasping it in the back. He squeezed her shoulder and she turned back toward him.

"I swear your too good to me sometimes," she said before their lips met in a deep kiss.

* * *

Bonnie didn't make it to the Grill that night. The headache had gone, as Damon had promised, only to be replaced by the flu later in the day, and she was unwillingly stuck in bed. Her Grams came to her house to nurse her back to health. She shot Elena a text letting her know there was no way she could make it, while on the phone advising Stefan against coming to see her, afraid of getting him sick as well.

Caroline called and revealed that she had to cancel on Elena as well, due to her father making a sudden reappearance and stirring up trouble in the Forbes house, and that she knew Elena and Matt had had a huge fight and he wouldn't be going.

"Poor Elena, her whole night fell apart," Bonnie said.

"It's okay, we'll reschedule," Care offered. "Maybe without the guys. Make it a girls' night, get her mind off Matt for awhile."

As Bonnie was growing increasingly tired after sucking down some more of Grams chicken and rice soup, she texted Stefan. _'What are you doing?'_

 _'_ _At the Grill, getting some food,'_ was the answer she got two minutes later.

 _'_ _I don't know if I'm going to make it to school tomorrow.'_

 _'_ _I'm sorry babe. I'll come see you after I'm out'._

 _'_ _OK, miss you.'_

 _'_ _Miss you too.'_

She put the phone down and was soon sleeping soundly. She was still coughing and sneezing when she awoke the next morning and knew getting up for school really wasn't an option.

Caroline got the notification that Bonnie would be a no-show as she entered the large, bricked building. She greeted Elena by her locker, they talked about what they could actually remember from the party, and Caroline inquired about the rest of her weekend.

"Aside from the party I didn't do much this weekend," Elena shared as she pulled her books from her locker. "How is everything with your mom and dad?"

Caroline sighed. "His sudden interest in being in my life is irking the hell out of my mom but he doesn't care. They keep picking fights with each other and driving me up the wall, but he isn't going away."

As they discussed her family problems Matt came up to them. "Hey Care," he greeted. "Is it okay if I steal Elena for a second?"

"Sure," Caroline agreed and departed from the tense duo. She started off toward her first class when fellow cheerleader and MF High shit-starter, Tiki Jones, and Amy Bradley flanked her sides.

"So, what's the tea Care Bear?" Tiki questioned. "Matt and Elena, back together?"

"They never broke up, nosies," Caroline replied.

"You sure about that?" Amy asked.

"Why are you asking?"

"What about Bonnie and Stefan?" Tiki went on. "Has the odd couple called it quits?"

"You guys sound like the paparazzi," Caroline said with a roll of her eyes. "If you concentrated on practicing cheers as much as you do nosing into other people's business, maybe I could actually put you on the front line."

"Don't be mad at us because your friends are trifling," Tiki snapped. "Or maybe everyone in your little group is just really, really close."

"At least that's how it looked at the Grill last night," Amy added.

"We weren't at the Grill last night," Caroline said.

"Stefan and Elena were," Amy revealed.

"No Matt, no Bonnie. Just the two of them," Tiki added.

"So...what? Did you see something?"

Tiki and Amy smirked at each other, feeling empowered with information. "Oh, it's not like they were touching or anything." Tiki reported. "They played it cool."

"But we've seen Elena in action before," Amy continued. "She was giving him her fuck-me eyes."

"And he was returning the favor." Both girls flipped their hair and strutted away, feeling accomplished. Caroline looked back at Elena, who was walking away from an upset-looking Matt. When she entered her first class she spotted Stefan in his usual spot, in the middle row. He caught her eyes and gave her a small smile and waved. She settled down one seat over from him and debated within herself for a moment. She finally decided to speak up.

"Stefan, I need to ask you some-" She started.

"Hey guys!" She was interrupted by Elena quickly approaching them, appearing much more cheerful than she had moments ago. She sat between Caroline and Stefan and Care's question died on her lips.

Later on in the day, Caroline was walking to History class when she spotted Stefan and Elena by the restrooms. They appeared to be having a casual conversation but Care zeroed in when the conversation came to a close and they shook hands. As their fingers parted she was sure she saw the corner of a small, folded piece of paper now enclosed in Elena's fist. Stefan stalked away and Elena disappeared into the bathroom. Caroline quickly followed her.

"Hey Care," Elena said as she gussied up in the mirror. Caroline stood with her arms crossed. "What's up?"

"I saw that," Caroline declared firmly.

"Saw what?"

"You and Stefan a second ago."

"We were talking," Elena looked at her like she was crazy.

"He passed you a note!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Care."

"Are you really going to stand there and lie to me?"

"What's going on with you?" Elena asked, facing her. "Are you suggesting that something is going on with Stefan and I? Do you really thinks I would do that to Bonnie...or Matt?"

Caroline felt a twinge of guilt for feeling such a way about her friend, if only for just a moment. "No...of course not. It's just that...Amy and Tiki saw you guys at the Grill last night."

"Since when do you trust a thing that comes out of those girls' mouths?" Elena asked incredulously. "Look, everyone had cancelled on me so I was kind of bummed but I was still hungry so I went up there to grab some food for myself. I ran into Stefan, neither of us had anything else to do, so we sat down and ate. 90% of the time we were talking about Bonnie." Caroline sighed. "We're friends, Care. We're just good friends."

"I know. It's just that everyone knows how he used to feel about you."

"That was months ago," Elena replied. "He had a small crush that lasted a split second, now he's totally and completely into Bonnie. I have enough of my own relationship drama to deal with without adding another guy into the equation."

"You're right. Sorry for going all cuckoo bananas on you."

"It's okay," she said. "It's all innocent, I promise."

* * *

Bonnie was still in bed, watching New Girl reruns when Elena, Caroline, and Stefan dropped by to visit her. They all piled on her bed, despite her protests, checking her temperature and treating her like a sick child.

"I love your necklace," Elena complimented, taking the end of it in her hand to admire it up close.

"Thanks. Stefan gave it to me. Anything happen in school today?" Bonnie inquired.

Elena shrugged. "No, same ol'. Tanner was an ass to everyone, we all fell asleep in Johnson's class."

"Just Elena actually," Stefan spoke up. "She was snoring and talking in her sleep. We woke her up and there was drool all over face. It was really gross actually."

"Shut up!" Elena demanded, playfully slapping him on the shoulder.

"It wasn't the same without you, Bon," Caroline declared.

"I hope one of you brought white rice," Grams said loudly as she entered the room. "I'm out and I need it for Bonnie's soup."

"I can run to the store and grab some, Miss Sheila," Stefan offered.

"I would love that, Stefan, thank you." Sheila said, smiling broadly at him.

"I can go with you," Elena volunteered. "I know the exact rice Grams likes to use."

"Sure," Stefan agreed with a nod.

"Wait!" Caroline cried out, causing everyone to pause and look at her curiously. "I'm sure Stefan can find it on his own. Why don't you stay here with us so we can catch up on the day's girl talk?"

Bonnie raised her brow. "We can do that when they get back. Go on you guys."

The pair started to head out. "Are you sure you don't want me to go instead?" Caroline called after them. "It's really not a problem."

"We're fine, Caroline," Elena called back.

"What's with you?" Bonnie asked her friend after her Grams exited the room.

"Maybe I am being crazy," Caroline said, blowing through her lips. "It's just that..."

"Spit it out, Care."

"Stefan and Elena seem to be getting really close lately."

Bonnie shrugged. "So. They're friends, I think it's great."

"Did you know they ended up having dinner at the Grill last night? She questioned. "Without any of us?"

"No."

"Stefan didn't tell you."

"No, but I'm sure he was going to today," she said quickly. "What are you getting at, Care? I'm friends with Matt, we've had meals together without Elena. He's been in my house without Elena."

"But she always knew about it beforehand, right?" Caroline pressed. Bonnie exhaled loudly. "Look, I wouldn't think of anything of it but I saw them talking today at school and Stefan passed her a note. They tried to be sneaky about it. Elena told me I was crazy but I know what I saw."

Bonnie mulled this over for a moment. "I'm sure it was nothing," she concluded. "Matt and I used to always pass each other notes freshman year."

"That was when you were fourteen years old and you were writing about Tanner's gross nose hair! It's not the same anymore!"

"It was innocent."

"Bonnie-"

"Caroline!" Bonnie exclaimed. "I know Stefan, okay. He wouldn't do that to me! He wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Neither would Elena. Things are getting more serious between him and I. As a matter of fact..." Bonnie looked out into the hall to be sure Grams was nowhere within earshot. "Something happened between us this weekend." Caroline's eyes widened. "Well, almost happened."

"What? What did you do you little slut?"

Bonnie chuckled. "Not everything, but more than we've done before." She sighed wistfully. "I really think he's the one, Care. I think he's the one I want to give myself to."

Care's mouth dropped. "Really? You want to lose your virginity to Stefan?"

"I'm not saying it's going to happen tomorrow, but when it does I want it to be with him."

"All I can say is make sure that you're really ready, and that's he's the one that should receive that honor," Caroline advised. "Because it _is_ an honor. The last thing I would want is for you to have regrets."

"I won't," Bonnie said, confidently. "I love him."

"Really?" She nodded. "Does he know that?"

"I haven't said it to him yet, but it's true," she said. "I know Stefan. He's my best friend. He's not like these other guys. He won't hurt me."

* * *

Later that evening, the girls were gone and Bonnie and Stefan lounged on her bed watching How I Met Your Mother. Bonnie, who was propped up at the head of the bed, was more so watching than Stefan, who was lying by her feet texting on his phone. Bonnie had just eaten another bowl of her Grams' soup, complete with the correct brand of rice that Stefan and Elena had returned with, and was starting to feel like herself again, but she was getting a bit huffy. Stefan wasn't being his usual attentive self, seemingly interested more in his phone than conversing with her. She sucked her teeth loudly.

"What's wrong with you?" Stefan asked, finally looking at her.

"Who the hell are you texting?" She snapped. "You've been completely ignoring my presence because you're glued to that damn phone. Give it to me!" She reached out to snatch it from him but he yanked it out of reach.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you talking to a girl?"

"What?"

"Is it Elena?"

Stefan's face scrunched. "Why would you think it's Elena?"

"I don't know, you guys are like besties now," she pointed out. "Care said she saw you passing Elena a note at school today."

"Well Caroline's crazy," he said in an annoyed tone. "Why are you acting like this Bonnie? You sound like a jealous girlfriend and you've never been jealous. It's one of the things I love about you."

"All I'm doing is asking questions."

"You tried to snatch my phone out of my hand like you lost your sense."

"Well, shit, Stefan what am I supposed to think? You're acting all distant! You're never like this."

"What do you want me to do?!" He cried. "I'm not going to be hugging and kissing all over you while you're sick."

"You said you didn't care!"

"I don't but I'm not going to smear your sick germs all over myself," he said. "I'm here, aren't I? You wanted me and I'm here with you. Just you. Look, I love you so fucking much but I am not okay with you creating problems where there are none."

"You...what?" Bonnie sucked in a breath, not sure she heard right.

"I..." Stefan trailed off then spoke again with confidence. "You heard me. I love you."

"You do?"

Stefan moved toward her, bringing his face just inches from hers. "Yes, I love you. Are you going to yell at me about that too?"

"Maybe but only because I love you too," she said. Stefan gave her a hard kiss. "Wait, what about my sick germs?"

"Worth it," Stefan declared and started kissing her again. Bonnie giggled as they fell back against the bed, wrapped in each other's arms.

* * *

 **A/N: So, yeah, I used Katherine from the books rather than the tv show. This fic is all human, so doppelgangers wouldn't fit into this universe. Reviews are love (yes, I know a lot of you are angry right now and I'm sorry)! Until next time...**


	7. Chapter 6 - Welcome to Heartbreak

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. This is intended for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Chapter 6 - Welcome to Heartbreak

Bonnie had to drive her own car to school the next day. Stefan called her as she was getting ready, moaning and groaning about being affected by her sick germs. She wasn't 100% healthy herself but she had a Calculus exam she really couldn't afford to miss because having to take it the day after would cause her to miss cheer practice, and Caroline would have her head. She definitely felt a Stefan-shaped void throughout the day, and she texted him periodically making sure he was holding up okay.

"Is he angry you got him sick?" Caroline inquired as they settled at their usual table in the cafeteria

"He's being a baby about it but he's okay," Bonnie replied. "We actually had our first fight last night."

"Really? What about? Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we worked it out," Bonnie said with a smile.

"Hey guys." Elena sat beside them, looking a little sullen.

"Whats wrong?" Bonnie asked.

Elena huffed. "I just don't know what to do about Matt."

"This relationship seems like it's becoming more stressful than anything else," Bonnie said.

"What is it that you want, Elena?" Caroline asked. "Do you want to be with him?"

She sighed deeply. "Yes. I really wish I could work it out with him. Matt is the one I'm supposed to be with."

"What do you mean 'supposed to be with'?" Caroline pressed.

"Look, we all know you love Matt," Bonnie spoke up. "But you have to be honest with yourself. Are you still _in_ love with him?"

Elena pondered for a moment before giving a definitive answer. "No."

* * *

Bonnie pulled up to the boardinghouse at about 4:00 that afternoon. To her chagrin, the elder Salvatore was the one to open the door. "Ugh, don't you have a life or any friends," she said as she stepped into the house without invitation. "Every time I come you're home. Just once I'd like to experience the peace of a Damon-less house."

"Well, it seems the stars always align for me to be here when you show up or maybe the devil is taunting me by having this thing with you and Stefan last for like...ever." His face grew serious. "What do you want?"

She held up the container she'd been carrying. "My Grams made some soup for Stefan. I was just going to drop it off because he doesn't want me to touch him and get a sick cycle going, but I'll think I'll run up and see him really quickly."

"Or you can do what he says and skeedaddle."

"I'm just going to bring him the soup."

"I can do that," Damon said, taking the container from her hands.

"Why are you being so weird?"

"I'm not but both of you are irritating and whiny as hell when you're sick and I need it to be over with already," he snapped.

"Fine, whatever." she said. "I'm sure he'll be happy to learn you prevented him from seeing this pretty face."

"I'm sure he will. Bye bye now."

Bonnie left without any further fight. She was still just a bit under the weather herself and wanted to get home to her bed. She was going to need more rest if she was going to survive school and cheer practice the following day. Stefan later texted her thanking her for the soup but when she called him not too long after there was no answer.

She hated the separation. They'd just exchanged their first I-love-yous, they should've been inseparable. She was surprised when she got an, _'I'm here',_ text from him the next morning.

"You're alive," she said cheerfully as she climbed into his car.

"I think Grams' soup helped," he said as he pulled off.

"Did Damon tell you he practically pushed me out of the house when I came to bring it to you?"

"Doesn't he always try to push you out?"

"Yeah, but he was being extra weird about it yesterday," she said. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Yeah, sorry I missed your call. I had just fallen asleep."

"It's okay." She reached out her hand and he took it in his own. When they got to school Bonnie was greeted by Matt. It was obvious he wanted to talk to her so Stefan took the hint and stepped away.

"How are you, Matt?"

"I'm sure Elena told you she broke up with me," he declared somberly.

"What? No." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Matt. I know it sucks but maybe you guys need this break."

"I need you to be honest with me, Bonnie," he said. "What do you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is there another guy?"

"No, why would you think that?" Bonnie asked in surprise.

"She's been acting weird for days," he revealed. "She's always texting while we're hanging out and she's cryptic about who she's talking to. She'll disappear for hours and I can't get a hold of her, and sometimes I think she starts arguments on purpose."

"That doesn't sound like Elena."

"Well, I'm telling you that she's been different with me. Everything in my gut is telling me there's someone else."

Bonnie sighed. "I think she just doesn't feel the same anymore. She's loved you since we were kids but she may have grown out of the relationship." Matt huffed. "She wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Just take some time for yourself and maybe you guys will find your way back to each other down the road." Matt nodded in agreement but she could tell he wasn't really feeling that idea.

* * *

Matt and Elena's break-up inevitably changed the dynamics of the group. He hung with Tyler and a few other jocks even more frequently. If they ran into him at the Grill, all of his exchanges with Elena were icy, and he just didn't seem that happy. Bonnie couldn't concentrate on this too much because she had her own relationship to worry about.

Stefan had become very hot and cold, and it was driving her nuts. Some days he was all over her and telling her how much he loved her, the next day he was acting distant and disinterested. The first five months of their relationship they had been completely inseparable and gag-inducingly affectionate. She couldn't understand what had changed in the past few weeks.

One morning she got a text from him letting her know he wouldn't be picking her up. _'Zach is in town, have to go see him. Family emergency. TTYL.'_ Bonnie was bummed she'd have to get through the day without her man. Chemistry class wasn't the same without him. When she got to school she quickly realized Elena was absent as well.

"Do you know where she is?" Bonnie asked Caroline.

"She said she had a doctor's appointment," Care replied.

"Doctor's appointment...that sounds legit." The Bopsy twins, Tiki and Amy, had suddenly materialized beside Bonnie and Caroline. "Funny that you didn't know she had an appointment, Bon. I mean she is your best friend. Why wouldn't she have told you she was going to be out today?"

"Say, where's your hot boyfriend?" Tiki inquired.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "None of your business, Tiki."

"Kind of weird both Stefan and Elena skipped school on the same day," Tiki continued. "Think there's a connection?"

"What are you implying?" Bonnie snapped.

"Won't you two just go away?" Caroline huffed in frustration.

"We're just asking a question," Amy said with faux innocence. "We know Stefan and Elena are really, really close friends. We thought maybe they were hanging out today."

"But why would they be hanging out without you guys? Hm?" Tiki inquired.

Bonnie did her best to contain her anger. "They're not. You guys don't know shit so stop trying to start it."

"You're right. I'm sure it's just a coincidence." They both smirked and stalked away, satisfied with themselves.

"You know, I'm really starting to hate those bitches," Bonnie muttered. She turned to Caroline who was looking at her with concern. "What?"

"How have things been with you and Stefan?"

"They're...fine," she answered. "Sure, there's ups and downs but that's normal. We love each other and I know he's not doing anything shady."

"I didn't say he was."

"I can practically read your mind, Caroline."

Bonnie couldn't concentrate during class. Her mind kept wandering to Stefan and the things Tiki and Amy had said. She knew it was ridiculous, but she just couldn't shake the weird feeling she was getting as she stared at Stefan and Elena's empty desks. Matt was positive Elena had left him for someone else, Stefan seemed to be losing interest, and the two seemed to have developed a comfortability with each other usually only shared by a couple. Elena was her life-long friend, however, and a good person. She would never interfere in her relationship. So, why couldn't Bonnie shake the feeling that something wasn't right?

That night Bonnie stood in her bedroom, Staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were smoky, her hair was curled, and she was in nothing but a bra and panties that left very little to the imagination. She was still attempting to gussy up her appearance when her phone rang.

"What's up?"

"Got any plans?" Caroline questioned without bothering with a hello. "It's Friday night, it would be a sin to stay in. Let's go to Tyler's, he's having some people over."

"Not tonight, Caroline."

"Why, what have you got going on?" Caroline questioned, almost offensively. "Your pajamas and a Pretty Little Liars binge on Netflix?"

"Stefan's coming over."

"So, he can come too."

"We have plans."

"Is he taking you out?" She further pressed. "Did he give you a proper explanation as to why he skipped school today?"

"No, he didn't really go into too much detail," Bonnie admitted. "The conversation was short when we spoke a bit ago. I told him I really wanted to see him and he said he was on his way."

"So, you're not even going to ask him about it?"

"Why would I? If he said it was a family emergency then that's what it was. Why press him about it?" She said. "Besides, tonight would not be the right time to interrogate him about that. It's a mood killer."

"Mood killer? Bonnie, what's going on?"

Bonnie sighed deeply, wondering if it was wise to confide in her friend at this point. "Tonight is the night," she announced. "Stefan and I are going to really be together for the first time."

"What?!" Caroline screeched so loudly Bonnie had to hold the phone from her ear. "You're going to have sex with him?!" This was followed by a high-pitched stream of words spoken so rapidly Bonnie hardly understood any of it.

"Whoa, Care, slow down. It's not a big deal."

"It's a huge deal!" Caroline objected passionately. "I get that Stefan is smoking hot and it's been super challenging for you to resist his bod, but this is your first time, Bonnie. Once your virginity is gone you can't get it back, You're my best friend, and I want to look out for you. If you feel like he's slipping away and this is your attempt at fixing-"

"That is not what this is," Bonnie snapped angrily. "I told you before, Stefan's the one. I knew I was saving it for someone special, now I know that someone is him. I love him, Caroline."

"I know you do," she agreed. "Are you sure you're ready to take this step? And are you sure you're taking it for all the right reasons?" At that moment Bonnie heard the sound of Stefan's convertible pulling into the driveway through her open window. Her father had left on another business trip that morning and wouldn't be back until Monday. Bonnie's plan was to spend every every waking moment with Stefan until then, most likely without clothes.

"I have to go," Bonnie said abruptly. Caroline started to respond but she interrupted her. "I'll talk to you later." She hung up the phone, just slightly annoyed at Care for raising all these questions. She quickly shot Stefan a text. _'Door is unlocked, just come on up.'_

Her nerves were in full effect as she waited for him. She stood up as her bedroom door opened and Stefan stepped in, looking extra delectable himself. His mouth dropped once his eyes landed on her, all dolled up and sexy.

"Wow," he said. "Look at you." Bonnie smiled as he quickly crossed the room to her. Grabbing her gently, he kissed her like he hadn't seen her in decades. It sent Bonnie's heart aflutter and made her feel just a bit better about the situation.

"I'm guessing you missed me too," Bonnie joked as they pulled away.

"You have no idea," he said, scooping her up in his arms.

Soon after they were on the bed, a shirtless Stefan nestled between Bonnie's legs as they kissed passionately. He started to run his hands over her body, slowly and expertly stripping her of her bra. He softly kissed her breasts, her stomach, her inner thighs. He was pulling her panties down then paused.

"Geesh, babe, you're shaking," he observed.

"I...I am?"

He moved upward to look into her emerald eyes. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

"Stefan..." she hesitated for a moment, looking into his eyes. The beautiful green eyes, she'd loved gazing into dreamily for the past six months, the green eyes that belonged to the first guy she'd ever really loved. "Are we falling apart? I love you so much, Stefan, and I want you to be the one but..."

He sighed and sat up. "But you're not sure I am."

"I'm just not sure how _you're_ feeling anymore," she explained, sitting up as well. "And I can't be sure if you're not sure." There was a pause then Stefan suddenly huffed and got up from the bed.

"I'm just going to go," he declared, slipping his henley back on.

"What?"

"It's good to know you're having doubts about our relationship."

"That's not what I said!"

"Look, I know what I want," he snapped. "I've waited patiently for you to be ready for months. I've tried to be a good boyfriend, I don't know what else I can do to get you to see me as 'the one'."

"Things haven't been the same with us," Bonnie argued. "I've felt a disconnect from you and it scares me."

"So, it's just me then?" he threw back. "I don't get you, Bonnie! If you feel like that why invite me here? Why do all this?"

"Because it's what I wanted," she replied. "At least I thought I did."

"I'll leave you to figure it out," he headed to the door.

"Stefan, wait, we should talk about this."

He ignored her and continued out the room. She followed him into the hall. "I'm just afraid to give myself to someone who isn't fully committed to me, don't you get that? Stefan?!" The response she got was the front door slamming so hard it shook the house. If it wasn't before, Bonnie knew that now, their relationship was officially on the rocks.

* * *

Bonnie was left in limbo over the next two days. Stefan didn't come by, text, call, nothing. She spent the weekend in the house, listening to music, eating junk food, watching Netflix, half heartedly doing homework, and stressing about her relationship. They never went this long with no contact, and the way he'd left her house Friday night was so un-Stefan like. The more the hours ticked by and she checked her phone in vain, the more her anger built. He claimed to be a 'good boyfriend' to her, but a good boyfriend would've stayed and talked things out with her. A good boyfriend would make sure she never felt like less than a priority. Instead, he'd been a complete ass to her.

Monday morning came the true test. She had no idea if he was coming to pick her up. She got ready for school as she normally did. It got closer to the time he should've been waiting out front and there was no sign of him. Bonnie wasn't going to be late for school sitting around waiting. She grabbed her car keys and lingered by the Prius for another five minutes. He was officially a no-show and she drove herself to school, thoroughly pissed off.

Her anger was doubled as she walked to the junior hall and the first thing she saw was Stefan at his locker, talking to Elena. The two were extra chummy, laughing at whatever lame topic they'd settled on. Bonnie was seething as she stormed toward them. Elena was walking away as she approached but she didn't care, she could talk to her later.

"What the hell is going on?" She snapped loudly at Stefan. He looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"What are you-"

"Don't you dare act like you don't know I'm talking about," she said angrily. She was drawing stares but couldn't seem to care as much as she usually would. "You act like a jerk on Friday, storm out of my house, ignore me all weekend, then completely blow me off this morning without even bothering to let me know you weren't picking me up. What the hell is your problem?!"

"Can you maybe not talk so loud?"

"Why, is it bothering you? Am I doing something you don't like? Would you like to run away rather than talk about it?"

"I didn't run away, Bonnie," he snapped back, "But we can talk about this later."

"No. Now." She spoke through gritted teeth. "I know I'm always the 'chill' one but I swear I _will_ cause a scene in this hallway."

Stefan slung his bag over his shoulder. "Come on," he said angrily and took Bonnie by her forearm, hustling her toward the nearest classroom. They spilled into the empty room and Stefan threw his bag down in a huff and spread his arms.

"Here we are!" He shouted. "You want to have this fight? You got things you want to say to me? Put it on the table!"

"All I wanted was for you to talk to me about what's happening with us!" She exclaimed. "Instead you ignore me for days! Lately, you've been talking to my best friend more than me. You were probably with her all weekend which is why I didn't hear from you."

"Now you're just being ridiculous!"

"Am I?!" She shouted. Her tone then dropped as she tried and failed to keep the emotion out of her voice. "What happened to us, Stefan? We were inseparable, literally attached at the hip. You're not just my boyfriend but my best friend. It's changed and I deserve to know why." Stefan sighed deeply and cast his eyes to the floor. "If it's me or something I did then tell me."

"It's not you."

"Is it someone else?" She finally asked. He raised his eyes and looked at her with what looked to Bonnie like an expression of guilt. "I deserve the truth, Stefan, is it someone else?"

"It's me, Bonnie," he said. "I'm sorry for the way I acted. I didn't call because I wanted some time to think, and I thought you could use the space too. It was stupid, I should've reached out and told you how I was feeling." He stepped closer to her and pulled her in for an embrace. "I love you, Bonnie. I knew from the first time you spoke to me you were something special. You're such an amazing girl. You've made me better but sometimes I can't help but think I don't deserve someone as perfect as you."

"No one is perfect, but doesn't everyone deserve to be with the one they love?"

Stefan placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Yes, but the timing has to be right."

Bonnie pulled away from him. "So, what does that mean?"

"I'm not breaking up with you," he stated. "I'd be an idiot to do that. I just think a little bit of space could be a good thing." The first bell sounded, signaling the students had five minutes to get to where they needed to go.

"I guess that's our cue," Bonnie said, softly. "I'll see you in Chem." She started toward the door but Stefan gently grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Don't ever think for one second that I don't still love you, Bennett," he said. "I'm going to always love you. _Always_." Bonnie's smile was sad.

* * *

The morning went by much slower than usual. Bonnie wasn't in the best of moods, because despite their cordial parting, there was now an obvious detachment between she and Stefan. He wasn't walking her to classes. they were sitting a foot apart in Chemistry and barely speaking, and Bonnie didn't have the glow she'd been carrying the past six months. Amy inquired about trouble in paradise and received an icy glare in return. She was missing her man already but had too much pride to show it.

She caught up with Caroline right before lunch and they headed to the cafeteria, going over Tanner's more horrid than usual attitude that day, Bonnie spotted a man clearly too old to be a student amongst the sea of teenagers, heading toward the exit door.

"I'll meet you in the caf," Bonnie told her friend, cutting her off mid-complaint. She then took off after the elder Salvatore.

"Damon!" She called as she hurried her pace to catch up to him. "Damon, wait up!"

He paused just as he reached the large double doors and turned. "Bon Bon," he said as she breathlessly caught up to him. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Hey, what's going on?" She questioned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just being a good guy and fulfilling my brotherly duties," he responded. "Despite how inconvenient the timing. I had a very delectable piece in my bed who was practically begging for a morning round. She's a church receptionist by day, go go dancer by night, and very flexible all the time-"

"So what are you doing here?" A grossed out Bonnie quickly moved past this topic.

"Stefan forgot his English essay at home," he explained. "He texted me panicking because it was due on Friday. I just saved his ass by dropping it off to his teacher, but you think I'll get a thank you for it?"

The mention of Friday reminded her. "That was nice of you. How's Zach?"

"Fine. Why, do you miss him?"

"So everything's been okay with him since Friday?"

"Yes, why wouldn't it be? The man just found out he's having a baby with his insanely hot wife. He's over the moon right now," Damon revealed.

"Really..." She pondered this for a moment. "So, no family emergencies recently?"

"No," Damon replied with a shrug. "Everything's been calm at Salvatore Manor. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." She felt herself hardening, the anger resurfacing. "No reason at all." She turned on her heel and walked away without a goodbye. Damon was saying something to her but she'd tuned him out, making a beeline for the cafeteria. She almost immediately spotted Stefan. He was sitting at a table in the center of the room, heartily chatting it up with Aaron Teller as if he hadn't a care in the world. He spotted Bonnie charging at him like a raging bull and sat up in his chair. Without thinking it through, Bonnie grabbed the open can of grape soda on the table before Aaron, and whipped it on Stefan full force. A collective gasp went around the room.

"You wanted your space, you got it," she hissed through gritted teeth. "We're done." And she turned on her heel and stormed out, leaving a shocked Stefan sticky and wet, his brand new shirt ruined.

Caroline found Bonnie in the girls restroom a minute later, sobbing in one of the stalls. "Bonnie," she rapped on the door. "Please, let me in, Bon."

The door opened and she was greeted by a tear stained face. "You were right," Bonnie said. "You were right about everything. He lied to me." Care embraced her, feeling no joy in this outcome. Elena burst into the restroom a moment later.

"Bonnie, what happened?" She asked, worriedly. "I heard you just flipped out on Stefan."

"Elena, this isn't a good time," Caroline started to say but Bonnie spoke up.

"Tell me the truth," she demanded, stepping to the tall brunette. "Were you with Stefan on Friday?" The guilt in Elena's eyes ran deep but she said nothing. "If you're not going to start being honest with me, then I can't really consider you a friend and I'm going to have to cut you out of my life too."

"Don't say that," Elena pleaded.

"Give me my space," the shorter girl said angrily before straightening herself up. "One thing I will not tolerate is a liar...even when it's Stefan. Even if it's you." And she walked out of the bathroom.

* * *

The next couple weeks were rough for Bonnie. Her group was officially torn apart. Elena did as she was told and kept away from her, although Bonnie could see in her doe brown eyes she desperately wanted to speak to her. Bonnie continued walking past her as if she didn't exist. It made for an awkward situation for Caroline, who had to split her time between her best friends. Matt didn't come around anymore, Stefan regressed back into the quiet loner who paid no one the time of day, Bonnie found a new spot to sit during Chemistry, a table toward the back next to a kid in her gym class who seemed nearly giddy to have one of the popular kids sitting near him. He was weird and stared a lot, but it was the only available space.

Stefan and Bonnie didn't speak at all. He never reached out and she had too much pride to go up to him. This upset her even more. She felt he should've been apologetic, trying to make it up to her. She knew he would've been mad about her humiliating him in front of the whole school, but he deserved every bit of that humiliation. She noticed he and Elena avoided each other during school as well. She would catch looks exchanged between them during class, though they sat nowhere near each other, both texting and smiling at their phones. Bonnie was no fool. She knew what was going on.

Then one day, it stopped. The looks were no longer sneaky, there was no more sitting rows away from each other, and although a sadness glazed Elena's eyes whenever she glimpsed Bonnie, there was an undeniable glow about her every other moment. Bonnie parked in her usual spot. Stefan's spot used to be right by hers but he'd traded for one further from the building. As she grabbed her books and her purse from the backseat she spotted the flashy red convertible. Stefan was rocking his signature designer shades, a black tee and a particularly expensive pair of True Religion jeans. Beside him, in the seat that Bonnie had occupied almost daily for six months, was the pretty, statuesque brunette that she'd once called a friend. Bonnie found herself rooted to her spot, watching them pull into the space, smiling at each other before emerging from the car, catching everyone's eyes. It felt like she was getting her heart ripped from her chest all over again.

"I guess today is the day," Matt materialized beside Bonnie, looking how she felt, and disrupting her moment of heartbreak. She looked at him questioningly. "Today must be the day they go public. You know...with their 'relationship', and they're lies, their deceit, their two-timing."

"Whatever. They deserve each other," Bonnie muttered, moving back toward her car and slamming the door shut.

"You don't have to pretend like you're not hurt," Matt said, following her toward the building. "What they did to us was wrong."

"Hurt? Please," Bonnie scoffed. "He's her problem now. I'm free of the burden of being with a guy who didn't deserve me. I'll let karma handle the rest."

Matt fell silent for a moment, before speaking up again begrudgingly. "So, I'm just supposed to go through everyday normally, pretend like it doesn't bother me?"

"Don't look at them, look past them," Bonnie advised as they passed through the large double doors into the school. "Don't talk to them, talk through them. Our lives are not going to stop because of our no good exes."

Bonnie found it difficult to follow her own advice as the day wore on. It was seemingly one of the longest days of her life. The strong face she'd put on for Matt was a facade. Seeing Elena and Stefan now openly flaunting their affection was like a stab in the heart over and over again. After first period, she spotted them by the lockers, Elena's doe brown eyes sparkling as she gazed into his eyes, then she spotted Bonnie and turned away guiltily. Bonnie continued past them, Stefan visibly confused at Elena suddenly pulling away then he saw Bonnie and his expression shifted into one of guilt as well. Their guilt did nothing but piss Bonnie off.

Her daydreams were growing more volatile by the hour. One consisted of her ripping Elena's long, chocolate locks from her head. Another was of her knocking Stefan out with a heavy object, then beating him about the head and face with it. In one, she set the red convertible aflame while they sat inside, making out.

When she walked into Chemistry her usual table was empty and a quick scan of the room found Stefan and Elena in the very back, giggling like school girls. "What happened to looking past them?" Matt inquired, suddenly appearing behind her. "Come on." He sat with her at the table, taking the spot Stefan had frequented at one time.

The worst part of the day came at lunch. She had managed to block out all the whispering in the halls until then. She knew everyone was gossiping about the scandalous Stelena leaving Matt and Bonnie for each other. Bonnie sat at the cafeteria table with Caroline, Matt, and Tyler, the tray of food before her untouched. She looked around to see all the eyes on her as people whispered and stared. It was causing a ringing in her ears that grew louder and louder until she couldn't take it anymore. Her chair screeched loudly as she pushed it back and jumped up from the table. "Bon?" Caroline looked at her curiously.

"I'm not doing this," she declared and hastened toward the exit. She ignored Caroline calling after her and pushed through the door and into the courtyard, breathing in the fresh, crisp air. More eyes on her from the stray students milling about the courtyard as she made the decision to leave campus. Not thinking of the repercussions of skipping out on school halfway through the day, she headed toward the student parking lot, planning to hop into her Prius and peel out before she was noticed and stopped by a teacher. Then Oakland came into view, the oak tree she and Stefan spent many afternoons canoodled under, and she stopped. Now, Stefan sat under Oakland, canoodling with Elena. There was no looking past that.

Bonnie's blood was boiling. Seeing them there was like two slaps to the face, front hand and back hand. She wasn't even thinking about it, her feet were moving toward them. The pair sat up straight as they noticed her coming, obviously anticipating a hurricane. "Bonnie!" The sound of Caroline's worried voice snapped the cheerleader out of her cloud of rage. Both Stefan and Elena looked relieved as Caroline rushed to Bonnie, distracting her from unloading her fury on them.

"Honey, what's wrong?" She asked, placing her hands on her shoulders. "You ran out so fast I - " Then she saw them and her sentence trailed off. She turned Bonnie away protectively and steered her back toward the brick building. "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

"Bonnie!" Elena was standing to go after them. "Bonnie, wait!"

"Not now Elena!" Caroline snapped. "Maybe not ever." And Elena stayed behind, crestfallen, as her two friends went on without her.

Caroline led Bonnie back to the courtyard. "I'm so sorry you had to see that," Care consoled. "They're being so insensitive."

"He took her to Oakland."

"What?"

"Our spot," Bonnie reiterated. "That tree is our spot and he had the nerve to take another girl there. You know Caroline, I've been preparing myself for this. For when I would have to see them holding hands or kiss but for some reason I thought they would be a little more respectful. I didn't think he would be doing the same things with her that he did with me."

"I'm mad at Elena too," Caroline admitted. "She betrayed you. She's supposed to be with us, helping you get through your first real break-up. Distracting you from thinking about him with lunches at your favorite restaurant. chick flicks, and spa days at my house. Not sleeping with your ex and flaunting him in front of you." Bonnie's eyes widened in horror. "Not that I know that they're sleeping together. Look, Bon, I just don't want you to hurt anymore. What can I do?"

"I'm past the hurt," Bon replied. "It's just humiliating. I can survive them being together, but the entire school knowing my business? Everyone staring at me waiting for a reaction when they flirt. The whispering and the laughing, it's driving me crazy. I don't know how I'm going to get through the rest of this day without going off on someone."

"Listen, I'm your best friend. I'm here. If any of these bitches say one thing to you I'll scratch their eyes out."

Bonnie couldn't help but chuckle. "One of the many reasons why I love you, because I know you really would." Laughing, Care slung her arm around her friend and they walked back inside together. The rest of the day went by much better. Caroline and Tyler focused on making her laugh, even making plans for a cabin trip that weekend. Tyler threatened to punch a guy who hit on Bonnie then insulted her with, _"Now I see why Salvatore started fucking your best friend,"_ after she rejected him. They surrounded her tightly, determined to keep people from staring in her face, making it obvious they were reveling in her misery.

Midway through the final class of the day, Bonnie's bladder demanding to be relieved, so she dismissed herself to go to the bathroom. As she stood over the sink, fixing her make-up in the mirror, Ms. Steal-Your-Man herself walked in. Bonnie's expression hardened as she caught her eyes. Elena opened her mouth as if to say something then turned to make a hasty exit. Seemingly changing her mind again, she stopped at the door then turned to face Bonnie.

"Bonnie, listen...Caroline told me to give you space but I really think we should talk," she started.

"Don't!" Bonnie said in a stern voice, holding up her polished hand to stop Elena from rambling on further. "Just don't, okay?' She started past her.

"Please, Bonnie!" Elena cried, desperately. "I miss you! I want my best friend back. You haven't spoken to me in over a month and it's been killing me."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you looked real broken up making out with my ex in the same spot me and him used to make out in," she said, sarcastically. "I would've been completely justified in going over there and kicking the shit out of you, Elena, but you're not worth it, and he sure as hell ain't either. We have nothing to say to each other. I gave you the opportunity to be straight up with me a long time ago about what was going on with you two and you didn't. You never came to me as a friend. Now, what's done is done and I'm moving on. So leave me the hell alone." And she walked out.

After the final bell, she went to her locker to grab her homework before heading out and found a small note tucked in between her English and Calculus books. Her name was written on the front and she instantly recognized Elena's perfect, girly calligraphy. Sucking her teeth, Bonnie stuffed the note in her bag. She left school without saying goodbye to her anyone.

Instead of heading home, she went to her Grams' house. Grams could instantly see in her grandchild's face that she'd had a hard day and correctly guessed it had something to do with _'that boy with the funny hair she used to hang around'_. Bonnie sat at the kitchen table and poured herself into her homework. When she pulled out her notes Elena's letter fell out. She stared at it a moment then put it away and opened her books. Afterward, she and Grams dug into the meal Grams had prepared for her, which happened to be Bonnie's favorite dish. When she went home at the end of the night, showered, and sat on her bed in her PJs. she held Elena's letter in her hands.

Was it worth it to read it? Would it cause her more pain, or would it give her clarity? Maybe reading the details of how their backstabbing started would really give her the push she needed to truly move on. With a heavy sigh she opened the note and read.

 _Dear Bonnie,_

 _I know you hate me. You have every right to. Knowing this tears me up inside every single day. You have been my closest friend my entire life, and since you've been gone I've felt this huge void...and it fucking hurts._

 _My feelings for Stefan were totally and completely unexpected. My interest for him was piqued the moment we came face to face for the first time, but I buried it down as far as I could for the sake of my relationship with Matt. I knew Matt was too jealous for me to even form a friendship with this guy. Then you started hanging out with him, and for a reason it took me awhile to figure out, I had a weird feeling about it. A feeling I would later realize was jealousy, something I would also attempt to bury._

 _But your relationship with him meant I could be around him, get to know him without Matt being justifiably mad. I found myself thinking about him a lot, wondering about his past, his desires, his likes and dislikes, and although it was inappropriate for him to be on my mind so much, I just couldn't keep it from happening._

 _I have to admit, everyone was telling me he was into me the first week of school, and I was flattered. Then you seemed to quell any interest he may have had in me. Then the more time passed, and the closer Stefan and I got, that interest seemed to return. I don't have to tell you all the reasons that made me fall for him, this letter isn't meant to hurt you further. It's meant to give you the explanation and apology you deserve, and maybe even closure._

 _The night after he and I had dinner at the grill together, our feelings for each other could no longer be denied. Although I knew he was still in love with you, and you would be devastated if you knew, I was consumed by my feelings, and consumed by guilt because of it. We did meet in secret, in an attempt to talk about what was going on with us and even decided to end it, to try to stay away from each other. Then the next day you guys broke up, and I had to admit to myself I was in love. And I hated myself for it._

 _This may not make you feel any better, but I promise nothing physical happened between us while you two were together. I know Stefan misses you, I know he still thinks about you, I know he regrets breaking your heart, just as I do. Sometimes, I fear he may still be in love with you, which I guess would be my own sweet karma. As kids, you, Caroline, and I made a vow to never let a boy come between us, and now it has. And it's my fault. I can only hope, but not expect, that one day in the future you can forgive me. Even if we can never be friends again, I pray that we can at least be cordial, smile at each other and it be genuine._

 _No matter what, I love you, Bonnie. And I am so, sincerely sorry for the pain that I've caused you._

 _Love,_

 _Elena_

After scanning it a second time, Bonnie crumpled up the letter in her hands, and threw it in the trash. She slept soundly that night.


	8. Chapter 7 - Another Kind of Heartbreak

**A/N: It's like a lot of you were asleep for the first five chapters, then the last one woke everyone up, lol. The reviews shot up for the last update and it was nice to know more people were tuned in than I thought. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for reading and reviewing and going through the ups and downs of this Bonnie's love life with me. I know it's hard reading about a heartbroken Bonnie, and I'm sorry for doing it, but we've still got a ways to go on this fic.**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. This is intended for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Chapter 7 - Another Kind of Heartbreak

Bonnie hoped the next day would be different. People stared, people whispered, a few bold ones straight out asked her about the break-up. The moment Elena laid eyes on Bonnie she approached her. "Did you get my letter?" She questioned. Bonnie nodded. "Can we talk?" She seemed quite surprised when Bonnie actually nodded in agreement.

They slipped into a nearby empty classroom, the same one Bonnie and Stefan had had their last fight. "I want to thank you," Bonnie said. Elena appeared taken aback. "That letter gave me everything I needed to move on. Move on from you, move on from Stefan, and move on from this whole messy situation."

Elena appeared crestfallen. "I was really hoping after all this time you could forgive me and we could be friends again."

"I know you're used to everyone bending over backwards to get you everything you want but you can't always have it all," Bonnie lectured. "You had a choice between your friendship with me or your relationship with Stefan, and you chose Stefan."

Elena hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Bonnie."

"I am too," she said with understanding. "I don't hate you anymore, Elena, but I can't have someone in my life that would hurt me like that when I've been nothing but a good friend. Our friendship is over. Please respect my choice. I wish the best for you and him." And Bonnie walked out, leaving behind her lifelong friendship with Elena Gilbert.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, all the way up until cheer practice. Bonnie wasn't in the mood to fake cheerfulness, she wanted to go home and binge on ice-cream and Netflix, then cram in some last minute homework before bed. Pretending Stefan wasn't right across the field at football practice making googly eyes at Elena was going to be a lot harder. A quarter of the way through practice Tiki was perturbed by Bonnie snapping at her after the team had to repeat the same maneuver for the fourth time because she messed it up.

"Don't give me that attitude!" Tiki snapped back at Bonnie. "You need to be directing that anger at Elena, she's the one that stole your man."

"What did you say?" Bonnie asked through gritted teeth.

"What? Everybody knows," Tiki continued.

"Tiki, shut up!" Caroline cried, angrily.

"Why? Because Miss Prudish wouldn't put out for her man for six months and he did what any other straight guy would do?" Tiki said, venomously. "He found someone else who would give up the goods. And someone much hotter if you ask me." Before she could be talked out of it, Bonnie had blasted Tiki in the face with an open palm. The violent reaction caused and instant uproar as the other cheerleaders jumped in between the two as Bonnie went for another attack. Bonnie wasn't able to get to her again through the flurry of bodies, especially since Caroline was pushing her back, her blue eyes widened with panic as she shouted for her to chill out.

Bonnie wrestled herself out of Caroline's grasp and marched away from the fracas she created. She snatched her gym bag off the ground and looked up to see all the football players had stalled practice and were watching them, Coach Tanner included. Stefan was looking right at Bonnie. his brow furrowed and eyes full of concern. This made Bonnie angrier. The nerve he had to be worried about her when he put her in this position in the first place, and she turned on her heel and beelined for the parking lot, blocking out all the girls on the field shouting for her to come back.

* * *

Bonnie was still in a red cloud of fury by the time she got home. Grabbing a box from her closet and flurrying around the room, grabbing everything Stefan had given her, left behind, or remotely reminded her of him. This included the hoodie she'd worn religiously after he left it at her house, the ticket stubs from their first real date, all the notes he'd written her in class, and most importantly, Lily's necklace. Then, she was back in the Prius, burning rubber to the Salvatore boarding house.

All she wanted was to drop the box off and be free of him. She could do an Elena purge later, but all the remnants of her first love and the first man to break her heart, had to go first. She hastily parked in front of the sprawling property, grabbed the box from the passenger seat, and headed up the lawn to the front porch. She decided against ringing the bell. She knew Stefan was still at practice and the last thing she wanted was to come face-to-face with him anyway. She set the box right before the door, sighed deeply with relief of releasing herself on one of many burdens, then turned to head back. She heard the front door opening as soon as she hit the first step.

"Come bearing gifts, Judgy?" said the all-too-familiar voice from behind her. Groaning internally at her luck, she turned back to face Damon. He was looking down at the box curiously. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes, it's a box of Stefan's junk," she confirmed. "So, go on and do your happy dance because it's official. We're finally over."

"Oh come on, Bon Bon," he said, stepping over the box and out onto the porch. "Does you breaking up with Stefan mean you have to break up with me? I haven't seen you in over a month and the first time we do cross paths you accuse me of celebrating your pain? I thought we were better than that."

"Please, Damon, we don't even like each other."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," he said. "I would say we are two kindred spirits of differing moralities and belief systems that come together in joyous, harmonious disagreement." He looked to Bonnie for a chuckle but she remained stone-faced. With a sigh, he settled on the highest porch step and held his hand out in invitation to the empty space next to him, looking up at Bonnie expectantly. After a moment of deliberating whether or not she wanted to commit to a conversation with Damon, she sat down next to him.

"There's something you have to realize about Stefan," Damon said in a serious tone. "He's stupid. It's a known fact that teenage boys are stupid. I know he has the aura of someone much older than seventeen, but he's still a slave to teenage idiocy and bad decisions."

Bonnie shook her head sadly. "He fooled me. I'm the stupid one, I was stupid enough to think he was different."

"My brother is a good kid, he's just made a mistake he hasn't realized is a mistake yet."

"Which part is the mistake? Not being with me or being with Elena."

"Bonnie, listen..."

"That day I came to bring him the soup and you wouldn't let me see him, was she here?" Bonnie looked at Damon with scrutinizing eyes, and he shifted uncomfortably under her hard gaze.

"Harping on the past isn't conducive to you moving on."

"I fucking knew it!" Bonnie cried, jumping up from the porch step. "All three of you were a part of this plan to sneak around behind my back and lie to me."

"That's not true."

"What, did she park car up the street or something so I wouldn't see her car?" Bonnie asked in an accusatory tone. "Did they ask you to man the doors and keep me from coming upstairs?"

"No."

"Ugh, I'm such an idiot! And that lie about the family emergency so he can run off with Elena! Fuck you, fuck all of you!"

"Hey!" Damon stood as well and spoke in a stern voice. "I've been doing everything I can to not get caught up in this Degrassi ass teen drama! Elena did come see Stefan that day and they both played innocent with me. Then you come in all unsuspecting and doe-eyed and in love and...dammit I felt bad, and I felt like kicking Stefan's ass. I didn't want you to unsuspectingly walk into something that was going to break your heart. You and I may not be the best of friends, but you were good to my brother, and I didn't want to see you hurt." Bonnie's back was turned to him but he could her sniffling and immediately felt awkward. Dealing with crying women, or any kind of emotional situation at all, was not Damon's strength. After a moment of deliberating on what to do he reached out and awkwardly patted her on the back. "It'll be all right, Bon. You'll be fine."

"It's so humiliating, Damon," she said, turning to him as the tears stained her cheeks. "Everybody at school knows he basically left me for her, and they're always together now like we used to be, and everyone thinks I'm some kind of prude. And now I'll probably be kicked off the cheerleading squad for slapping Tiki and - "

"You what?"

"This girl was mouthing off about Elena stealing my boyfriend and I kind of snapped."

"You hit her?" Damon inquired and Bonnie nodded. He nodded his approval. "Nice. Did you get her good? Black an eye, bust a lip?"

"Damon..."

"What, I'm just saying, if some bitchy cheerleader is giving you lip and you want to take your day out on her, make sure you send a message. Black eyes tend to do the trick."

Bonnie couldn't help but laugh and the chuckles soon morphed into sobs. Damon reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. "You're tough, Bonnie, you don't cry over stupid boys." Her sobs lessened. "That's right. Toughen up and tough it out. You can do better and you will." Bonnie sucked back the tears and straightened her posture.

"You're right," she said in a steady voice. "Two words I never thought I'd be saying to you." She wiped her eyes vigorously. "Well, I should go before Stefan gets here. Can you make sure he gets the box?"

"No problem, Judgy."

She gives him the first genuine smile she's ever shot his way. "I'll be seeing you around, Damon." And she turns and starts away. He watches her go for a moment, then suddenly she's back, throwing her arms around him in an unexpected embrace that he's too stunned and awkward to return. "Thank you, Damon," she says, then she's gone again.

* * *

Bonnie correctly predicted the consequences of her attack on Tiki. The coach told her she understood Tiki may have provoked her, but Bonnie's behavior was 'unacceptable' and a 'direct violation of Mystic Falls High code of conduct'. She was withdrawn from her spot on the team and told to return her uniform and all cheerleading supplies to Coach's office immediately.

"I fought hard for you," Caroline told her, flanking her side as she took the walk of shame from the office back to class, no longer a Mystic Falls High cheerleader but just a regular student with nothing going for but her grades and fledging popularity. Caroline's sentiment was repeated by most of the other cheerleaders, all claiming to be Team Bonnie. Tiki didn't say anything to her, just shot nasty looks at every opportunity. It was obvious Elena wanted to apologize for Tiki being able to use her as ammo to hurt Bonnie, but every time she opened her mouth to speak Bonnie would walk past her like she wasn't even there.

As weeks passed Elena gave up on trying to win Bonnie back. As she became more wrapped up in her relationship with Stefan, she began to alienate herself from Caroline. Care was now spending most of her time with Tyler, whom she'd begun dating. and she was concerned about her clique falling apart because of boys, something they'd promised each other back in third grade to never let happen. When she'd voiced her concerns to Elena, she all but shrugged them off.

"I'm done feeling guilty," Elena stated. "I tried and tried to apologize. You can't help who you fall for, Care, and I'm in love. I'm happy, I"m not going to pretend I'm not." And that was that.

With no boyfriend and no cheerleading, Bonnie had to find something to occupy her time. She joined the volleyball team and was kicking ass. Hitting that ball with all her power helped to get all her pent up her aggression out. She quickly became the star of the team and soon people were talking about her athletic skills more than her personal life.

She and Matt were hanging out more frequently as well. They were there for each other through the hurt of their break-ups, and connected even more as friends. They could turn to each other for support after seeing Stefan and Elena kissing in the hall or snuggling under Oakland. It was happening so much, Bonnie was becoming numb to it, to them. She had bigger concerns with her sports, school work, and now ailing grandmother to be worried about her trifling ex.

Grams had unexpectedly fallen ill and spent a few days in the hospital. She'd scared the crap out of Bonnie who, just momentarily, had forgotten how strong her Grams was. Everyday since her mini-stroke, Bonnie was going to visit her right after school or practice. Now that Grams was at home resting comfortably she was insisting Bonnie stop spending so much time at her house.

"Tired of you fussing over me." Grams fussed herself one day as Bonnie fluffed her pillows. "I keep telling you, you don't need to be over here so much, I know you have things to do. Don't worry about me."

"Whine all you want, Grams, you can't get rid of me," Bonnie responded. "At least not for long. I'll be heading out in a few to meet up with Matt. We're doing some studying."

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with that boy," Grams looked at her suspiciously.

"It's not like that with Matt and I," Bonnie stated, truthfully. "He's one of my best friends, we've just been bonding more lately."

"Mmhm," was Grams unconvinced response.

"I'm not rebounding," Bonnie continued. "Next time I date, I'm going to do it right." She leaned down and kissed her Grams on the forehead. "No practice tomorrow so I'll be here right after school."

"I guess there's no use arguing."

"Nope." Bonnie gathered her things. "My dad is going to be here later with dinner." Grams opened her mouth to complain about being treated like an invalid but Bonnie quickly cut her off. "No whining. It's happening. Love you Grams, see you tomorrow."

Grams grumbled _'I love you too' ,_ as Bonnie headed out the door.

A short while later, she was sitting on Matt's bed, working on the Chemistry homework with him. "I seriously can't wait until we graduate and never have to use this stuff," Bonnie grumbled.

"I could do without another Tanner class to be honest, but I'm not in a rush to graduate," Matt admitted.

"Why not?"

"What's waiting for me after high school?" He inquired, rhetorically. "A full time position at the Grill? Chasing behind my sister, trying to keep her off drugs, and still struggling to maintain this house because my deadbeat parents don't give a shit about keeping a roof over their kids' heads. There's really nothing for me after this. Definitely not Ivy League schools on my non-existent budget. No college, no football, no Elena..."

"Stop it, Matt," Bonnie said. "You have a bright future, you just haven't realized your own potential yet. That's okay, you have all of senior year for that, we all 's not like graduation is tomorrow. And Vicki still has a chance to turn around too. As for Elena...there's another girl out there who's better for you. I swear there is."

"You know for half my life, I was stupid enough to think she'd be the girl I'd marry."

"That wasn't stupid, we all thought that," Bonnie revealed. She reached out and touched his shoulder. "You would've been an amazing husband to her, and now another woman will get that privilege. Someone who'll be good to you. Hell, someone is going to have to pass those pretty blue eyes of yours onto a handsome son." They both chuckled

"You're the one that's amazing, Bonnie," he said, now settling those pretty blue eyes on her. "And Salvatore is the biggest dumb ass on the planet for giving you up."

Bonnie gave a small smile. "Thank you, Matt."

Instead of responding with his words Matt suddenly leaned forward and his lips were on hers. Bonnie internally shrieked when she realized what was happening and pushed him away. "Matt, what are you doing?" She cried.

"I'm sorry, I thought..."

"You're acting off of emotion right now, not an actual attraction for me," she stated. "You and I don't see each other that way, Matt. We never have. I understand you're hurt but you don't rebound with your best friend!" She placed her small hand over his. "Your friendship is way too valuable to for us to risk it by doing something stupid."

"You're right, you're absolutely right," he nodded. "My bad."

At that moment Bonnie's phone rang. She checked the caller ID. "It's my dad," she reported as she picked up the call. "Hey Dad, what's up?" The words that followed that question are words that Bonnie would never forget.

"Bonnie, what's wrong?"

Bonnie felt like she'd been hit with a ton of bricks. For a moment she couldn't speak, she couldn't breathe, as her father rambled in her ear. Then she was moving, grabbing all of her stuff and cramming her school books into her backpack.

"Bonnie?" Matt called her.

"I have to go!" She cried as she bolted out the door. "It's my Grams! I have to go!"

* * *

Bonnie had thought the realization her mother wanted nothing to do with her was the worst moment of her life. She thought this again when her first love left her for her best friend. Nothing she had been through in her sixteen years compared to losing her Grams. Miss Sheila Marie Bennett had been her rock, her best friend, her mother when she needed a mother figure, and her wizened grandmother when she needed her Grams. She cried until her well of tears had run dry, then she was numb.

School was out of the question. After the funeral, she traveled to North Carolina to stay with family. Caroline and Matt consistently called to check on her, Tyler called with condolences, and she gladly spoke with them. Stefan and Elena both sent her text messages that went unanswered. The surprise came when Damon shot her at text.

After two weeks, she knew it was time to come home, back to reality. The school year was coming to a close and she had to get ready for finals.

Her first day back she was greeted by Caroline, Matt, and Tyler at the doors. They swarmed her with hugs, going on about how much they missed her. Bonnie appreciated the love but she couldn't give them more than a half smile. She still felt numb inside. Right after first period Stefan cornered her.

"I really wanted to call," he was saying but she wasn't really listening. "I just didn't think it was appropriate."

"It's okay, Stefan." The first words she'd spoken directly to him in months."I've had other things on my mind beside a call from you." His brow furrowed at the shadiness of her comment.

"Look, Bonnie, I am really, truly sorry about your Grams," he said. "I know how important she was to you too, she was a great woman, I really liked her. I'm sorry she's gone."

Bonnie's hard exterior melted just a bit. "Thanks," she said with an appreciative nod. "She used to like you too." Stefan nodded in understanding.

"I'm also sorry about...everything else that's happened between us," he finally said. "Things got ugly and I never wanted that. I never wanted to hurt you."

Bonnie wanted to brush this aside, she didn't want to care about his two month late apology but she had to ask the question. "So, why did you?"

Stefan's brow furrowed even further at this inquiry and he seemed to struggle to form the right words. As he opened his mouth to respond, Elena stepped up, seemingly out of nowhere, concern etched all over her face. "Bonnie, hey," she said. "Nice to see you back in school. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Elena," Bonnie said in a non-committal tone. Being ambushed by her ex and his current girlfriend was not an ideal return to school and Stefan seemed to sense this.

"I'll be in class," he said as he started away. He gave Bonnie a nod. "I'll see you later."

"I sent you a message while you were away. I don't know if you got it," Elena told her.

"I got it." Bonnie replied plainly. She found no use in pretending anything other than she'd received it and chosen not to respond. It wasn't personal to Elena, many messages had gone unanswered during her grieving period.

"Grams was an amazing woman, she's done so much for me and my family over the years," Elena stated. "I loved her like she was my own grandmother."

"Thank you Elena. I know you did."

The brunette reached out and gingerly placed a comforting arm on Bonnie's shoulders. She seemed to perk up when the smaller girl didn't immediately draw away. "You're going through a tough time," she observed. "Let me be there for you, as a friend."

Bonnie gently took Elena's hand and removed it. "Like I told you before, I don't hate you, and I'm not angry anymore. I don't have energy to waste on that. You don't have to worry about me wishing any ill will toward you or bad-mouthing you because I'm not. But we're not friends. I have no room in my life for someone like you, I don't know how many times, in how many ways, I have to tell you this." This time she was the one to reach out a comforting hand. "Thank you for the condolences. Goodbye." And Bonnie found she actually meant it.

* * *

That night Bonnie received a lengthy text from Stefan. ' _Bonnie, I really wanted to talk with you more earlier but it wasn't a good time. I just want you to know that what I told you that day in the classroom, about always loving you, is still true. That may not mean much to you now, but it still means a hell of a lot to me. I'm so sorry for the lies I told you. I'm sorry for breaking your heart. I'm sorry for not appreciating what a phenomenal woman you are while I had the chance. You're the least deserving person to be treated that way, but I hope you never forget all the beautiful, loving memories we do share. Being with you was amazing, more so than I ever thought it would be. I ruined it, just like I'_ ve _done with every good thing in my life. After everything I went thru with my ex, I still can't believe I turned around and did the same thing to you. Not having you in my life has been tough. After that scene in the cafeteria, I was angry and embarrassed at first, then I realized I was lucky to just get off with just a drink to the face after what I did. Not being able to go to you during my highs and my lows these past couple months, has been so hard it sometimes keeps me up at night. I regret everything and the way it all went down. Elena understands because she's going thru the same thing. I'm sorry for the loss of Grams. She was an amazing woman, just like you, and I know she's resting peacefully. I'm keeping you and your family in my prayers, Bonnie. If you ever do need a friend, I'm here._

She responded simply with, _'Thank you.'_ She could've found a lot of things wrong with his message, one starting with he should've been apologetic months ago. If he had regrets, why didn't he fight for her? Why did he let her go so easily? Not having this closure had eating away at her for months. Now all she wanted was to close this chapter of her life and move on. She could've laughed at the fact Stefan thought they would be friends again, but she didn't. The break-up with Stefan, being kicked off the cheerleading squad, the humiliation and rumors, losing Elena, and Grams passing away, all contributed to Bonnie considering her junior year of high school her worst year yet. She vowed to herself that she would not allow her senior year to be the same way.

* * *

 **A/N: This is the end of Part 1, aka the Stefan chapters. Sorry this update wasn't longer, but I promise the next one will be pretty lengthy.**


	9. Chapter 8 - New Crush

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. Hope you're all enjoying the new year so far. I'll be posting another update soon. Until then, I hope enjoy this update. Thanks so much for the love for this story so far! And I'm sorry to the ones that didn't like the Bonnie/Stefan/Elena saga, I tried to give as much warning as I could without spoiling it.**

 **On to part 2 of this story!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. This is intended for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

 **Part 2**

 ***The Secret & The Rebel***

* * *

Chapter 8 - New Crush

The rest of the school year went by in a blur. Volleyball now a thing of the past, Bonnie had nothing to do but pour herself into her studies, sometimes with Matt who didn't make anymore moves on her but rather pretended that had never happened. She aced all of her finals, and after much pressure from friends, attended an end-of-year beer pong celebration on the Lockwood property by the woods.

She kicked off the summer with a job lifeguarding at the local pool, alongside Matt, just like they'd done the last two years. She still wasn't dating, there wasn't even any potentials, but for the time being she was okay with it.

The town was rocked when a fire broke out at the town square the night of the Founder's Day parade. Tyler's father, the mayor of Mystic Falls, was one of the lives lost, along with Jeremy Gilbert's girlfriend, Annabelle. As Bonnie was listening to the list of names of people who'd been caught in the fire, her heart stopped at the mention of Damon Salvatore. This was followed by a huge sigh of relief when it was announced he was one of just a few who'd made it out with minor injuries.

On a whim, she purchased a small batch of sugar cookies she knew to be his guilty pleasure. Damon didn't allow himself too many sugary or fattening foods, wanting to keep his tight physique and good health to better maintain his sexual conquests, but she'd caught him with cookies a time or two.

She headed to the boardinghouse and was relieved to see Stefan's convertible wasn't on the property when she pulled up. She wouldn't have gone in if it had been, just to avoid any awkward run-ins. She knocked but there was no answer, however Damon's Camaro was in the driveway so she knew he was home. Remembering the Salvatores never locked their doors, despite their many valuables, she tried the knob and it opened. Calling out, she entered the home and instantly felt comfortability. She had spent so much time in this house when she and Stefan were together it was more of a first home than a second home. Navigating the halls with familiarity, she called out Damon's name again.

"Is that a judgmental Bennett I hear calling my name?" She turned and smirked at Damon as he hit the bottom step of the grand staircase. He looked no worse for the wear. He looked pretty good in fact, although Bonnie would never tell him this.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," he said, approaching her. "Long time, no see."

"Yeah, well, can't say that's entirely circumstance."

"I'm sure. Sorry you came all this way, Judgy, but Stefan's not here."

"I'm not here for Stefan." She held up the container. "I got you a I'm-a-little-glad-you-weren't-burned-alive-and-I-hope-you-feel-better-and-thank-you-for-making-me-feel-better-at-my-worst present."

"Wow," he took the container. "I play nice for one day and you try to fatten me up. Even trade."

"Shut up," she said playfully, following him to the wet bar where she already knew he was going for the bourbon. "Really, I just wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine," he said, pouring himself a drink. "I got out. Feel bad for the ones who didn't." He took a long gulp and his face grew stony. "It was hard. I had to watch them die, the mayor, Anna, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. My lungs were so filled with smoke I thought for sure I would die of inhalation first then my body would burn, and I had accepted the fact I was going to die. Next thing I knew, arms were pulling at me, trying to get me to stand. I had collapsed right by the door trying to escape. That was the only reason they could get me out." He finished off the bourbon. "I'm telling you, seeing someone go like that, it stays with you forever."

"Wow...I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"You should be sorry. Now you're stuck with me for at least another fifty years."

"Are you going to the Lockwoods to pay your respects?" She questioned. "I was just about to head over there."

"I'm going to show my face but that's not really where I want to spend the better part of my day."

"Same here. Come on, I'll drive you," she declared marching to the door.

"What?"

"You're already drinking and it's barely noon and I think it's safe to assume it isn't your first drink of the day," she lectured. "There will definitely be alcohol at the memorial so you need a DD. Let's go."

Damon's face scrunched. "Since when did you become my mother?"

Before Bonnie could clap back with a snarky response, the front door was being opened and she had to quickly step away from it. The younger Salvatore was entering and he spotted his brother first.

"Hey, what are you..." He stopped short at the sight of his ex-girlfriend. "Bonnie?" He looked back and forth between she and Damon. "What are you doing here?"

"She brought me glad-you're-not dead snacks," Damon spoke up. "Which is more than you've done for me since my near-death experience, brother."

"I was just leaving," Bonnie said, quickly. "We're heading to the Lockwoods."

"Together?" Stefan's infamous brooding forehead was back.

"He's already drinking so we both know what's coming," Bonnie revealed.

"I drink, but I don't get drunk," Damon argued. "Tell her, Stefan. I'm always my most charming self at these things."

"I'll make sure he gets home in one piece."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Stefan said. "I'll bring him home. I just left the gym, so I'm going to run upstairs and shower then I'll be headed there myself. Damon, you can even ride with me there."

"Stop talking about me like I'm a child," Damon snapped. "I'm the adult here. Let's go, Judgy." He marched past the both of them and went outside, his choice made. Bonnie shrugged at Stefan and followed him out, laughing internally at Stefan's clear discomfort at she and Damon doing anything without him present. He had nothing to worry about, Bonnie wouldn't do something as cruel as mess with her ex's brother, despite what he'd done to her. And more importantly, she and Damon could only tolerate each other's presence for so long, before the bickering started. It was most likely they would go their own ways and wouldn't see each other again until it was time to go.

This theory was proven true once they arrived. Tyler stood outside of the home, greeting the mourners. His brow furrowed at the sight of Bonnie arriving with Damon, but the question in his eyes was quickly smothered by the tight hug she gave him. She and Damon lingered at the hors' deurves table for awhile then he said something that pissed her off and she told him to go to hell and left him there alone. It never took long with the two of them.

She found Matt and Caroline and mingled with them, after expressing her sorrow to Mrs. Lockwood. They spotted Stefan coming in alone and Matt questioned the whereabouts of Elena. "She's running late," Caroline informed. "She'll be coming with Jenna and Jeremy soon."

Stefan spotted their little group and headed over to them. Matt noticeably stiffened as he neared. "Hey guys," he said as if they were all old friends, when Caroline was the only who still hung with him. "How's everyone doing?" Matt and Bonnie exchanged a look but didn't respond.

"Considering the circumstances of why we're all here, I'll say we're only okay," Caroline piped up, attempting to quell the awkward tension. "How are you?"

"Same," he said with a nod. "Summer's been all right."

"There's Tyler, I'm going to go talk to him," Matt said and dismissed himself. Sheriff Forbes called Caroline who dismissed herself as well and went to see to her mother. Bonnie expected Stefan to do the same and started to walked toward the drink table but Stefan followed her.

"Hey, Bon, That was really nice of you to visit Damon and make sure he was okay," he said.

"No big deal," she said, pouring herself some lemonade. "Your house is on the way here."

"How have you been?" He asked. "We haven't spoken since..." Since her Grams died.

"I've been good. Thanks."

"Since Damon's riding home with you, I was thinking maybe you could stay for dinner."

"I've changed my mind about that, feel free to take him home yourself."

"Pissed you off already, huh?"

"He's Damon, he couldn't get through the day without pissing _someone_ off."

"Well, regardless, the invitation still stands."

Bonnie shook her head. "That's really not a good idea, Stefan," she said and looked past him. "And your girlfriend just walked in, I'm sure you don't want her to see you talking to me."

"It's really not a big - " But she was already gone.

Bonnie wanted a drink. Not sissy lemonade, something hard. She was almost positive Tyler would have the goods and she was on the hunt for him. She was cursing herself. Stefan was clearly trying to wedge his way back into her life again, and for a split second she had considered letting him. She spotted Matt emerging from the library and hurried over to him.

"Where's Tyler?" She inquired.

"In there with Jeremy," he answered and she quickly made her way into the library.

Just as she entered Tyler was handing Jeremy a tumbler of brown liquor. "Sharing?" She asked, announcing her presence.

"Hey Bonnie," Jeremy said with a smile. It was a known fact that he'd had a crush on her for years and he'd grown into quite the hunk himself. If it wasn't for him being a sophomore, a pothead, Elena's younger brother, and having just lost his girlfriend in the fire, she might have gone for it.

"Hey Bon," Tyler said somberly. "I would say after the year you've had, you need this drink just as much as I do." He handed her his own glass, keeping the bottle for himself.

"You're really doing me a service," she said, taking the glass. Jeremy, Tyler, and herself had just lost loved ones. It was fitting they shared this drink together. Unfortunately, before she could even take a sip, a man she'd never seen before entered the room. He was tall, and wide like the gym was a regular part of his routine, possessed handsome features almost reminiscent of Tyler's, and an even tan that suggested a lot of time in the sun was spent..

"Hey, what's going on in here, Tyler?"

"Nothing...nothing," Tyler said quickly as the man surveyed the scene. He looked to Bonnie who was guiltily holding the glass Tyler had just handed her.

"Should you be having that?" He asked, plucking it from her small hands before she could object. His hazel eyes lingered on her moment, seemingly taking her in.

"Uh...let's go Bonnie," Jeremy spoke up, holding out his arm to guide her out. She started out with him and looked back at the guy who'd stopped the party, who was looking back at her as well.

"Who is that guy?" Bonnie asked Jeremy.

"I think Tyler's uncle, just came into town for his brother's funeral."

They entered the living area where Elena spotted them. "Hey," she said. "What are you two doing?"

"Oh, I was just catching up with my old friend, Jeremy," Bonnie offered.

"Cool," Elena nodded. "Hey Bon-" But she was walking away heading over to Matt. She only stayed for about another thirty minutes, mostly listening to Caroline jabber on about her plans for the upcoming carnival. She was one of the event planners and had wasted no time assigning everyone jobs, including Bonnie.

Before Bonnie left she noticed the man who'd taken her dark liquor talking with Mrs. Lockwood. Caroline noticed Bonnie's eyes locked on someone from across the room. "Who are you staring at?" She asked.

"That guy that Ms. Lockwood is talking to, that's the mayor's brother?" Bonnie inquired. Caroline followed her eye line then spotted him herself.

"Yes, that would be Mason," Caroline replied. "He just came into town this morning for the memorial, Tyler hadn't seen him in years." Mason started to turn his head so Bonnie quickly looked away as to not be caught gaping. "Why are you asking about Tyler's hot uncle?"

"What? Who said I thought he was hot," Bonnie flustered and Caroline gave her a smug, knowing smile. "Ugh, whatever Caroline. I'm leaving."

* * *

The day the carnival arrived was a hectic one. Most notable was the absence of Caroline Forbes. Bonnie felt so bad, as she knew how much work Caroline had been putting into this over the past few weeks and how much she was looking forward to experiencing the pay off. She'd suddenly gotten extremely sick the day before, and her mother would not allow her out of bed no matter how much she begged. Bonnie and Tyler assured her that the carnival was a three day event and she would make it by Sunday, and to relax and get as much rest as possible so she won't have to waste another day in bed recovering. She could only argue with this logic for so long.

Unfortunately, this meant the grunt of the work fell to Elena, and Caroline had made Bonnie promise no less than twenty times that she would put her personal feelings aside for the day and help Elena to make sure this event went off without a hitch.

Elena was overworked and stressed and she looked every bit of it. Caroline was the queen of handling a million things on her plate at once but when it fell to her friends things didn't go as smoothly. "There's just so much to do," Elena was saying. "The booths need more tees, the games need more prizes, we need to get enough food trucks to fill all the slots and - "

"Elena, relax," Bonnie said. "I'm here to help."

"You...are?"

"Of course," she confirmed. "Poor Caroline is stuck in bed on the day she's been planning for months, this is a long standing promise I made to her. The only way tonight is going to go smoothly is if we work together."

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll be eternally grateful to you after tonight."

Bonnie was right. The girls managed to remain cordial and gets things done, and that night the carnival was bustling with happy people, teens with friends, and married couples with small children. The sound of laughter and rides, the smell of classic carnival food filled the air. One look around showed everyone was having a great time. Bonnie and Elena took it in proudly.

At some point Elena got a call on her walkie and informed Bonnie the karaoke machine was down. "Hey Carter!" Elena called to the cute, brown-skinned carnival worker that was nailing a sign to a booth. "You're with the carnival, right?"

He confirmed this as he approached the pair then his eyes fell on Bonnie. "Wow...and what do you need, beautiful?" Bonnie couldn't help but blush as Elena looked amused.

"Yeah, Bonnie, tell him what you need," she encouraged.

"Do you know anything about karaoke?" She questioned, then she and the handsome Carter were trekking to the other side of the field to the karaoke stand, sans Elena. Bonnie tried to describe the issue to him but he quickly brushed it off, stating he could fix it no problem, and insisted on flirting with her instead. Bonnie didn't bother lying to herself about enjoying the attention, Carter was cute, why not hang with him after work duties were completed, or give him her number?

Bonnie was distracted from her own thoughts and the question Carter was asking her by one of the stuffed animals displayed as a prize for the ring toss game. "Oh wow," she said aloud.

"What?" Carter asked curiously.

"That bear," she pointed to it. "It looks exactly like a bear I had as a kid, Ms. Cuddles. I was super attached to it, was devastated when I lost her years ago."

"Oh," Carter said with a nod. "You want it?"

"What?"

"I can get it for you," he said, stepping up to the booth. "I'll win you the bear, your prize for being so beautiful."

Bonnie smiled but shook her head. "No, you don't have to do that. I know you have a lot of work to do."

"I think I've earned myself a break," he gave her a flirtatious smile. "Now watch me work for you." And Bonnie did watch. She watched him miss every single bottle he aimed for. He was growing agitated and a little embarrassed.

"This next one and it's yours."

"No Carter, it's really not important."

Someone said his name on the walkie talkie clipped to his belt. He picked it up and responded.

 _"_ _We have a 15 at the ferris wheel. We need you over here, ASAP."_

"I'll be right there," he said then looked to Bonnie. "I'll meet you at the karaoke stand in ten minutes. Then we're coming back here and I'm getting you that bear." Then he was off. Bonnie could only laugh, she couldn't knock the boy's determination.

"I haven't witnessed a struggle that bad since I tried to ask Angela Delvecchio to the dance in junior high," said a voice from behind her. She turned to see Mason Lockwood walking up.

"Hey," she said in surprise. "Don't be too hard to him. It's a lot tougher than it looks."

"We'll see." He pulled out a bill and handed it to the game operator who promptly handed him a ring. Bonnie watched as he swiftly tossed the ring and it circled around the neck of one of the bottles and landed.

"Are you serious?" Bonnie asked in awe. "These games are literally designed for you to lose."

Mason shrugged. "I'm not built to lose," he said nonchalantly, then to the game operator, "I'll take the bear."

The teen pulled the Ms. Cuddles impostor and handed it to Mason who passed it off to Bonnie. "How did you know?"

"I just had a feeling," and he started away. "Have a good night, all right. Try to stay away from the alcohol until you're 21, okay?" And he walked away without looking back, leaving Bonnie hugging the bear and wondering how Tyler would feel about her marrying into the family.

Carter was noticeably disappointed when he met Bonnie at the karaoke machine and she already had the bear. It was made worse by the fact that she was clearly much less interested in him. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else. He asked for her number at the end of the night, and she offered to take his instead. He gave it up, but he know when they parted ways that night, he wouldn't be hearing from her again.

* * *

It was time for the Annual Masquerade Ball held at the Lockwood property, the second biggest property in Mystic Falls, after the Salvatores'. Mrs. Lockwood, now acting mayor since her husband's untimely death, called on everyone to help set up for the party. As they had the last two years, Bonnie, Matt, Elena, and Caroline were doing whatever they could to assist in getting things together, Elena and Caroline were on the massive lawn at one of the tables, helping put together decorations. Bonnie was by the house, helping the boys put out chairs. Stefan and Damon showed up as well but Bonnie didn't say much to either of them.

There was some really heavy objects on the truck that needed to be moved inside. One minute, Tyler and Jeremy were by her side doing most of the heavy lifting, the next second she was alone and struggling to move a large, rounded table.

She heard someone running up behind her. "Hey, how did you get stuck doing that by yourself?" It was Mason Lockwood, now rescuing her for the second time.

"All the guys bailed," Bonnie explained. "Something about draft picks, I don't know. I don't speak that language."

"Here, let me give you a hand," he offered and was pulling the heavy table out with ease. "Show me the way."

Bonnie nodded and walked in front of him, heading into the house to lead him to the place where the table had to go. When her back was to him a smile crept it's way onto her lips. She hadn't seen him since the carnival two weeks prior, and she had been secretly hoping to run into him here. She didn't know him well, there hadn't even been an official introduction, just random encounters. He was more than ten years her senior, and surfer dudes weren't really her type, but despite all this working against Mason, Bonnie was intrigued.

"There," she pointed to a space in the den.

He placed the table down. "Like that?"

"Just like that."

He smirked as he released the table then eyed her. "How's the bear been treating you?" He questioned, teasingly. "Throw it away yet?"

"No, of course I didn't throw it away," she said with a chuckle. "I love the bear, she reminds me of a bear I had as a child. Thanks for that, by the way, and this. You always seem to appear when help is needed. I'm starting to think you're a show-off."

Mason laughed. "No, I'm just a right place right time kind of guy." He joked. "I don't think there's been a proper introduction. My name is Mason, I'm Tyler's uncle."

His hand was so large it swallowed hers when she shook it.

"Bonnie Bennett, Tyler's friend."

"You mean memorial drinking buddy?"

Bonnie huffed as he smiled. "You're never going to let that go, are you?" She asked. "It's not like I even got a sip. You snatched it from my hands before I could."

"Hey, I'm just trying to help the youth, keep them on the right path."

"I'm not a child, I'm a responsible young woman," Bonnie stated, confidently. "I know how to handle myself."

"Okay," he held his hands up in defeat. "Need help with anything else, young woman?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," she stated, and he promptly followed her back out to the trunk. He proceeded to move all of the heavy stuff as she instructed him on where to place it. He managed to keep a smile on her face the entire time. Eventually the boys came back and she was called away for assistance elsewhere. Throughout the day, they didn't stray too far from each other, stepping up to help the other even when it was not necessary. Some people started to take notice.

"Ms. Lockwood said the masks were over here?" Bonnie asked Stefan who was standing behind the bar outside.

"Yeah, right over there." He pointed to a box on a table behind her. "Want me to grab it?"

"No, I got it." As she turned to head over to it she bumped into Mason.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. He smiled at her.

"As much as I've helped you today, you thank me by trying to knock me over?" He teased.

"Watch where you're going. I'm small but I can take you down," she joked. He laughed and stopped at the sight of Stefan watching their interaction with a tight expression.

"Mind passing me the wine glasses?" He asked Stefan. He nodded and handed him the box over the bar. "Want me to take that too?" He asked Bonnie.

"That's okay, I've got it."

"Don't worry about it," he slid the box out of her hands and continued on. Bonnie watched him go.

"Do you guys know each other?" Stefan was suddenly right behind her.

"Uh...not really," she replied. "We met at the memorial. He's Tyler's uncle. Really nice guy."

"Seems like it, especially to you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He just seems a little...off. That's all."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "He does not."

"I wouldn't hang around that guy too much if I was you, is all I'm saying."

"Too bad I don't care what you think anymore." She stalked away and when she looked back she saw Damon had approached Stefan. Stefan said something to him and they both looked her way. She shook her head in annoyance and walked to the table where Elena and Caroline were piecing together bead necklaces.

"You've been a busy bee today," Caroline observed.

"Yeah, I've been trying to help as much as possible," Bonnie replied, now putting together a necklace herself. I'm actually kind of excited for the party tonight."

"Hm, I wonder why?" Caroline said. Bonnie narrowed her eyes at her, catching the implication in her tone.

"So...Tyler's uncle is pretty cute," Elena said.

"Is he? Hadn't noticed," Bonnie attempted nonchalance. Elena and Caroline shot a look to each other and both giggled.

"You know what, I'm going back inside to set up the tables," Bonnie quickly dismissed herself from the incoming teasing.

"Bon, wait!" Care called after her but she didn't return. "She's totally crushing on him."

"Definitely," Elena agreed.

About twenty minutes later they were all gathered in the foyer of the Lockwood mansion. Mason approached as they discussed if they wanted to go the Grill now to eat or after the party. "One last thing," Mason declared. "My sister-in-law is out of beads. She's insistent on having more. Can anyone tell me the closest place I can get some?"

"The party store in the square has them," Bonnie offered. "It's only about six minutes away."

"Perfect. You know exactly where it is?"

"Yeah, I can go with you."

"No," Damon suddenly spoke up, loud and firm. "I know where it is, I'll go." Mason looked a little taken aback by Damon's sudden interference but let it go.

"Cool, then I think we're all done here," Mason said, coolly.

"Bon, ride with me to the store?" Damon asked in a tone that suggested it wasn't really a question.

"Thought you knew where it was," Bonnie challenged with a raised brow.

"You can help me carry the beads," Damon responded, lamely. Deciding she didn't have the energy to go back and forth with him, she followed him to the Camaro. The last thing she wanted was any lectures during this ride so she wasn't going to ask, but Bonnie had a strong suspicion Damon was trying to keep her from being alone with Mason, and she had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time.

* * *

 **A/N: No, Bonnie and Elena are not friends again, I know how much you all hate her in this fic (as you should). Bonnie was temporarily being the bigger person for the sake of Caroline, but really she has other things on her mind aside from worrying about Elena. Hope you enjoyed this update. Reviews are love!**


	10. Chapter 9 - The Fear

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Most of the typical reasons caused the delay but I do want to be honest with you guys. A part of it was that the reaction to the Mason/Bonnie pairing made me nervous to continue. Most were okay with it, but there was some that had a very harsh reaction to it due to the age difference. This is completely understandable, but I hadn't thought too much of it when I was initially writing it because most Bonnie fans shipped her with Damon who was much, much older than her in human and vampire years. Same for Enzo, so I thought Mason could still work. However, I realize now it's only fair to give a proper warning for the coming content, which I should've done last chapter.**

 **WARNING: This fic contains a section that depicts an older male/younger female relationship. If you do not want to continue reading this fic, or would rather return when the Mason chapters are done, I completely understand. Please consider this a fair warning.**

 **Now, on to the story!**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. This is intended for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Chapter 9 - The Fear

Many eyes turned Bonnie and Caroline's way as they strutted into the party. Both girls looked good, especially Bonnie in her form-fitting midnight blue dress. The masquerade masks they'd donned seemed to make people stare harder, trying to verify it really was Bonnie Bennett they were looking at.

Bonnie's eyes swept the room. Jeremy was with Matt by the patio, Tyler was talking to one of his football buddies by the bar, sneaking a drink from a flask, there was no sign of a Salvatore as of yet, but also by the bar, having a discussion with a uniformed Sheriff Forbes, was Mason Lockwood.

Bonnie couldn't peel her eyes away. He looked damn good in his suit...damn good. As if sensing he was being watched, Mason slowly lifted his eyes and locked them with hers. She sucked in a deep breath as they engaged in a silent staring contest, but neither made a move to approach the other.

Suddenly, Bonnie's eye line to the older man was being blocked by the blonde-haired, blue-eyed quarterback. "Hey Bonnie!" Matt said excitedly, before giving her a friendly hug.

"I just saw you and Care come in. You look incredible, Bon!"

"Yeah, you do, you really do," Jeremy, who was right behind Matt when he walked up, complimented the emerald-eyed beauty himself. Tyler had approached them by now and was holding his hand out for Caroline.

"I was waiting for you to be my first dance of the night," he told her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Bonnie knew to say Tyler's relationship with his father was rocky was an understatement, but his death had deeply impacted the young man regardless. Caroline had been doing her very best to keep him from going over the deep end, being there by his side in his darkest moments, and it seemed to be effective. Aside from some heavy drinking on certain nights, he hadn't gotten into nearly as much trouble as he probably would have.

Caroline smiled at him and took his hand. "You can have all my dances, Mr. Lockwood." And they disappeared into the crowd together.

Both boys in front of Bonnie seemed to want to take advantage of the opportunity and at the exact same moment asked, "Do you want to dance?" Bonnie raised her brow and Matt and Jeremy exchanged a look.

"Actually, I just want a drink for now," she started toward the bar.

"I can get that for you," Matt said just as Jeremy offered, "Let me go with you." Bonnie giggled to herself.

"I'm okay, I'll catch up with you guys later." And she headed off. Bonnie was well aware Matt just wanted to spend time with a close friend friend, as they had latched on to each other after their respective heartbreaks, but Matt knew nothing more than friendship was on the horizon for them. Jeremy had been trying to pick up the pieces again after the death of Annabelle. According to Caroline, he'd fallen into a deep, depressive hold for awhile that his family tried desperately to pull him out of. For years before he started dating other girls, Bonnie had always suspected he may have had a crush on her, but could never quite come out and say it.

Bonnie decided she wanted to enjoy the fresh air and stepped outside to the second bar area. The patio/lawn was where the real party was happening. The music was bumping, the people were dancing, laughter and joyous chatter rang in the air, and the efforts of the party committee had paid off as the lawn and house itself was beautifully decorated.

"Can I have a raspberry tea?" Bonnie talked loudly over the music to the bartender. He nodded and disappeared to make her drink. Bonnie then caught a glimpse of Elena coming down the walkway in a black mini dress, flanked by both Salvatores. She quickly turned away. She wasn't going to let any negativity get in the way of her having a good time tonight. She needed to have a good time.

The bartender reappeared with her drink and she took it with a grateful smile. "So, I'm not going to have to rip any vodka from your tiny, greedy hands tonight?" A voice said in her ear. When she turned she was staring into Mason Lockwood's sea green eyes. He had a hint of a smile on his lips.

"No, I've learned the hard way to be sneakier," Bonnie quipped before sipping from her vodka-less raspberry tea. "I'm not letting anyone kill my vibe tonight, including you, Mr. Lockwood."

"I will never...kill your vibe again," he said, then offered his hand. She hesitated. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on your drink." She set the glass on a nearby table and allowed Mason to sweep her away.

This was the closest she'd ever been to Tyler's uncle, and all she could think about was how heavenly he smelled and how incredibly warm he felt. Having her arms wrapped around him as they slowly moved to the beat of the song, she could feel how broad he actually was. She was so into observing her dance partner, she completely missed her ex dancing just a few feet away with his current girlfriend, glaring at them over Elena Gilbert's shoulders.

"I'm sure you've heard this about a hundred times already, but you're stunning in that dress," he said, smoothly. Bonnie met his eyes with her own and he was giving her a half smile.

"Not quite a hundred," she said with a soft laugh. There was a momentary silence as they danced, but it wasn't empty. There was so much going unspoken between them. Finally Bonnie asked, "How have I never met you before?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've known Tyler and his family since second grade," she explained. "I'm sure I would remember seeing you at a barbecue or ball or festival...wedding, anything."

"I left home when I was 16," Mason revealed. "Me and my brother didn't always get along the best. I tried to come around more, but it always ended in a fight with us. Last time I was in town Tyler was a kid, so you would've been-"

"Mind if I cut in?" A voice asked from behind them. Bonnie groaned internally at the realization that it was the elder Salvatore. His face was half obscured by a black masquerade mask, but it was undoubtedly him, who'd caused the interruption. Mason hesitated then looked to Bonnie who just slightly nodded. Mason stepped away and Damon swept into his place, moving perfectly in sync with Bonnie without missing a beat. Mason didn't linger, disappearing quickly amongst the partygoers.

"Stay away from Mason Lockwood," were the first words out of Damon's mouth.

Bonnie huffed and rolled her eyes. "Hi, Damon, nice to see you too. Thanks, how nice of you to compliment how I look tonight." Bonnie's tone dripped with sarcasm.

"The guy's a total creep, Bon," he shot back.

"You know, I was going to tell you that you actually look really handsome tonight but now all I wanna do is gauge your stupid eyes out," she threatened.

"That's the thanks I get for trying to look out for you?"

"You don't even know him, Damon," she pointed out. "I don't even know him. Not that it's any of your business, but there's nothing going on with me and Mason."

"Good, I'd hate to have to kick his ass."

"Why do you care anyway?"

"You can pretend to hate me all you want, Bon Bon, but we know deep down we're friends," he smirked.

"Ugh, whatever, I need a drink. Can you help me with that, friend?"

"I said friend, not bad influence," he said. Bonnie glared at him and he quickly changed his tune. "Meet me upstairs in twenty minutes."

"Thank you," she said and smoothly spun away from him. She walked past Stefan who was by the bar. He turned his body as if to speak to her but she didn't afford him the opportunity as she breezed by without a glance in his direction.

Bonnie had barely made it back inside when she was intercepted by Matt, wanting to cash in on his earlier dance request. She obliged, dancing with him until Jeremy intervened and swept her away. All the while, her eyes were surveying the room, looking for that one familiar face. Finally, she spotted him by the open patio doors. He was already staring at her.

"Excuse me, Jeremy, I have to run to the restroom, I'll catch up with you in a bit," Bonnie fibbed to her current dance partner. He nodded and released her and she headed toward the double doors. She didn't meet Mason's eyes as she stepped past him. She walked outside, past the bar area, past the dancers, toward the steps descending down to the pond. She was walking slowly, as to not draw too much attention her way. She didn't have to look back to confirm Mason was behind her, following her from a distance but keeping her in his view. She could feel him.

The large pond was Bonnie's favorite part of the Lockwood property, especially at night. She stopped by the lining of the trees leading into the forest, a considerable distance from the party itself, and looked out at the water. It was quiet over here, peaceful. It wasn't long before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face Mason.

"This is my favorite spot," she informed him. "Whenever I come here, I've made it a point to come out to the pond. It's a good place to clear your head."

"Are you saying you didn't try to lure me out here to get me alone?" He teased with a slick half smile.

"Are you saying you didn't want me to?" Bonnie shot right back. Mason chuckled and gave a slight nod of approval. He was appreciating this girl's wit more and more. Instead of responding Mason held out his hand, it took Bonnie only a moment to realize what he wanted. She took his hand and allowed him to bring her into a very close, slow dance. The music from the party was far away but they didn't need the music, all that mattered was the moment they were in together.

A few moments of silence passed before Mason spoke, "I don't usually do this."

"Do what?" Bonnie inquired.

"Slow dance," he said. "Dress up, go to silly masquerade parties. Those aren't really my things."

"Really? But you're such a good dancer," she responded. "And it would be a crime to not come to parties like this and deprive everyone of seeing you in a suit."

He chuckled. "Thank you," he said. "Regardless, I'm glad I came tonight. I really expected to only come into town for a few days, go to my brother's funeral, and try to be there for my sister-in-law and my nephew, but time has kind of gotten away from me."

"Maybe deep down you felt like you should make up for lost time with your family," Bonnie suggested. "Nothing makes you realize there isn't enough time in the world like death. I just recently lost my grandmother, and as much time as I spent with her, it still feels like it wasn't enough, like it could never be enough."

"I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother."

"I'm sorry about your brother."

"It's okay," he said. "I loved my brother but he wasn't the nicest guy, one of the reasons for our distant relationship. I'm pretty sure our bond was nothing compared to what you had with your grandmother."

"Still, losing people sucks."

By this time they had stopped moving in sync, but were rather standing very still, gazing into each other's eyes. If Mason wasn't so much taller than Bonnie, she would have been able to feel his breath on her face due to their close proximity. The silence was heavy, the temptation radiating from the both of them.

"What's on your mind?" Bonnie asked in a near-whisper. He didn't respond, just continued to stare at her, both of them frozen in the slow dance pose, hands wrapped around each other's. Bonnie decided to be bold for once and pushed forward. "If you don't want to tell me, why don't you show me?"

That was all he needed to hear. Mason leaned forward and pressed his lips to Bonnie's in a surprisingly soft kiss, and they lingered there, almost as if he was afraid to melt into it. Bonnie took matters into her own hands, placing her hand gently on the back of his neck and bringing him down further into her, deepening the kiss, adding the passion that would've been missing. He wrapped his arms around her as their bodies melded into each other, the kiss becoming so intense he nearly lifted her off her tiny feet. A small moan escaped her, then suddenly he was pulling away.

She didn't question this action aloud, the question was prominent enough in her eyes as he took a few steps back. He dug his hands into his pockets and slightly nodded his head, as if coming to terms with something within himself. "You have a good rest of your night, Bonnie," he said, and with that he turned and headed back to the house, leaving Bonnie by the pond alone and wondering what the hell just happened.

Less than an hour later, Bonnie was ready to call it a night. Mason had completely disappeared from the party, and no one else seemed to have a single interesting thing to say. She found Caroline and let her know she was ready to go. Unfortunately, Caroline had been her ride to the party and she wasn't ready to leave yet. Not wanting to ruin her friend's good time, she decided to take an Uber back. The moment she stepped outside, however, she heard a voice calling her name.

"Way to stand up me up, Bon Bon!" Damon chastised as he approached her, now mask-less. Bonnie was relieved to see his expression indicated that he wasn't actually that upset.

"Shoot, I am so sorry, I completely forgot," Bonnie responded honestly. Of course she wasn't going to mention sucking face with Mason Lockwood had made the secret meet-up with Damon shoot right out of her head.

"When we make plans to ditch a lame party to get tipsy together I expect you to stick to them," he said. "But I can be persuaded to forgive you." He gave her what could easily be perceived as a flirtatious smile.

Bonnie eyed him suspiciously. "You're already drunk, aren't you?"

"Me? No," he said in exaggerated tone, elongating the o's in no. "I'm just having a good time."

"Yeah, you're drunk." She gave him a friendly pat on the arm. "Why don't you go find your brother and make sure he isn't getting wasted too because you need to get home in one piece, and I don't have my car."

"No need. The hot Mystic Falls weather girl is here," he explained with a suggestive grin. "She's eager to give me a ride, if you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean, Damon," she said, suppressing an amused chuckle as she shook her head. "Still, be careful. You don't know her, and just because she's on TV doesn't mean she's not crazy."

Damon leaned in closer and spoke in a near whisper, ""Maybe, I like crazy."

"Damon?" A woman's voice called from behind them. Damon turned and Bonnie looked past him to see a pretty blonde woman in a tight red dress approaching them, her masquerade mask sitting atop her head. She looked curiously at the two of them. Bonnie instantly recognized her, and after digging in her mind for a moment recalled her name was Samantha Waters. Damon had been truthful about who he was bagging, there had been plenty mornings Bonnie watched this woman giving the forecast on Channel 4 News in a variety of form-fitting dresses, not much unlike the one she was wearing tonight, and making men all over town drool at their sets. She was a catch, and if Bonnie and Damon were alone she might have given him a high five.

"Are you ready to go?" Samantha Waters asked him in a soft tone before setting her eyes on Bonnie in a very pointed manner. Bonnie almost rolled her own eyes. Miss Samantha could relax, Bonnie had no interest in trying to block this woman from taking Damon home. She would usually disapprove of his promiscuous ways, but as eager as this woman was to take a man she just met a couple of hours ago back to her spot, then a chance was she was just as promiscuous, and who was Bonnie to judge. Just like Damon told her a couple times before, there is nothing wrong with two grown, consenting, attractive people coming together and doing what grown-ups do.

"Ready when you are, babe," Damon told her, smoldering at her with his electric blue eyes, his favorite weapon to use against women, Bonnie had learned. He held out his hand and she took it with a smile, throwing a look of superiority back at Bonnie. Bonnie couldn't be any more unbothered. Damon once again leaned toward Bonnie and spoke in a tone low enough so only she could make out his words, "I predict tonight things are going to get very...wet."

"Ugh, will you go on! Good night Damon!" Bonnie playfully but forcefully pushed him away by his broad shoulder. Damon chuckled and sauntered off hand-in-hand with his weather girl, whispering things to her that caused her to giggle like a schoolgirl. Bonnie was relieved to see her Uber pulling up at that moment. _At least someone is getting lucky tonight_ , she thought as she settled into the back of the sedan.

Just as she knew he would, Mason Lockwood plagued her thoughts as she drifted off to sleep that night. This was the first time she had thought of a man this way that wasn't _the boy_ who'd broken her heart. It was a welcome change.

Bonnie didn't have any plans the following day. She was fine with one chill day, because having a core group of friends constantly wanting to do something didn't leave much room for uneventful weekends, even in a town as small as Mystic Falls. She was midway through an episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta when there was a knock at the door. Her hopes for a night-in were dashed when she found Caroline, Tyler, and Matt at her doorstep, insisting she come along to the Grill for a night of pool and appetizers, with a possible nightcap at Tyler's consisting where they could dive into his parent's liquor.

She threw on one of her favorite light blue tops and some black denim jeans, applied a bit of eyeshadow and mascara, rubbed on some lipgloss, and rode with Matt in his truck to the Mystic Grill. As usual on Saturday nights, the local hangout was buzzing. A lot of kids from school, young couples on dates, singles eating burgers and hanging out with friends at the the bar, the usual.

Matt's sister, Vicki, was working this night. According to Matt, she was doing much better when it came to getting clean. Vicki was a hardcore drug abuser and partier, always hanging with the wrong crowd, and Matt was doing everything he could to get her back on the right path. It was one of the many things Bonnie admired about him, he cared so deeply for the people he loved and would do anything for them, even if it interfered with his own life.

Matt went off to speak with his sister and grab drinks for everyone while Bonnie, Caroline, and Tyler headed over to one of the pool tables. It didn't take Bonnie long to see why Matt really wanted her to come, as he had been the most pushy when she'd initially claimed to be tired. Caroline and Tyler were all over each other, their PDA more obnoxious than usual. Who would want to be a third wheel to that?

Tyler did seem to be in a better mood, which was a good sign. Caroline seemed to be a very good for girlfriend him, always trying to her best to keep him from wallowing and thinking about his father. Matt came over with the drinks while they were setting up for their first game, a couple other people from school came over to watch, and soon they were all having a good time. taunting each other while they played a very close game.

Bonnie was getting nervous. Tyler was coming very close to winning the first game, and she didn't like to lose. Caroline looked up toward the entrance and asked, "Tyler, isn't that your uncle?" She hadn't been talking to her, but Bonnie almost broke her neck from whiplash with how fast she turned to look. Sure enough, there was the tall, broad, handsome Mason Lockwood sauntering in and heading straight for the bar.

He wasn't dressed to the nines as he had been the night before, but was still insanely hot...at least to Bonnie. When she turned back around Caroline was smirking at her. She pretended not to notice and focused again on the pool table balls.

"Yeah, that is him," Tyler was saying. "I didn't know he was going to be here tonight. Hold on a second." He hand his pool stick to Caroline walked over to his uncle.

"I actually need a quick break anyway, gotta use the bathroom," Matt announced and disappeared himself. Caroline came around to Bonnie's side of the table and stood next to her friend, both of them watching Tyler and Mason converse.

"Ooh my, Mr. Lockwood, you're quite handsome and I sure do love staring at you," Caroline teased in a terrible Southern accent.

"Shut up," Bonnie hissed at her.

"Could you make it anymore obvious that you're into him?" Caroline said with a grin. "You were staring at him during the masquerade set-up, I caught you staring at him at the actual party, and here you are once again, burning a hole through his head."

"I am not staring." Bonnie quickly turned around again.

"It's okay to have a crush, I used to have a crush on Aaron Teller's father," Caroline confessed.

"Yeah, I remember."

"God, that was a sexy man," she said, looking up toward the ceiling as if fondly reminiscing. "I will never forget that time I fell off my bike in front of his house when I was ten, and the way his hands gently caressed my skin as he bandaged my knee." Caroline softly ran her fingers down Bonnie's arms to demonstrate. Bonnie looked at her with a furrowed brow then her eyes widened at the dreamy look in Caroline's pretty blue eyes, then both girls started laughing.

"You are crazy, Caroline," chuckled Bonnie with a shake of the hand.

"You never crush on anyone so I have to take advantage when you do," she responded. "And warn you like you warned me about Damon. What did you call him? Older, sexy, danger guy?" Bonnie rolled her eyes. Her own advice was about to come back to bite her in the butt. "Well, same thing here. Stay away from the older guys, Bon, I'm telling you. They'll use you then break your heart."

Bonnie snuck a look back at Mason and Tyler. There was no way she was going to tell Caroline about the kiss last night. Her teasing would turn into serious concern for sure, and definitely comparisons to Damon. Bonnie was in no rush to trust another guy after what Stefan did to her, but she found it hard to believe Mason was anything like Damon. She had the latter pegged from the moment she met him. Mason seemed a lot more genuine...sweeter.

She was expecting him to look over and lock eyes with her at any second. And it would be just as electric as the last time, maybe even more so now that they've tasted each other's lips. As Tyler was talking to him he made a motion with his hand back toward their table. Mason glanced toward them, but it was no more than a glance, his eyes passing right over Bonnie's. Caroline was chatting her up about another topic by now but Bonnie was barely listening. Matt came back from the bathroom at the same time Tyler ended his short conversation with his uncle and was coming over. Mason turned back toward the bartender without another glance their way. Was he really not going to come over and say hello? Was he seriously not going to acknowledge her? Bonnie felt herself getting a little heated. She turned her back to Mason and tried to focus on the game again but it was hard, feeling his presence in the room, thinking about him, thinking about how good he looked for the second night in a row, thinking about how amazing that kiss was.

At one point Bonnie snuck another look his way and seen him chatting up a woman and a man about his age. The man walked away and the woman started laughing really hard at something Mason said, too hard, and reached out and placed her arm on his chest as she cackled. Bonnie's expression instantly hardened, and Mason seemed to go stiff as if he felt the laser grill Bonnie was shooting into his back. She knew she had no claim on him, but to act as if she wasn't even in the damn room, to not even wave, was like a kick to the gut. But Mason seemed to have a swift change of heart about entertaining this woman. Downing the rest of the bourbon in his tumbler within seconds, he bid her goodbye and made a beeline to the men's room, appearing as if he just wanted to get away from her, but still, he didn't look Bonnie's way.

"Bonnie? Bonnie!"

"What?" She turned to see Matt and Tyler looking at her curiously, holding out the pool stick she had left resting against the table after her last turn.

"It's your turn," Matt told her.

"Right, I'm sorry." She took the stick and rounded the table, looking for the best angle to take her shot, but she was distracted. Bonnie was a fairly good pool player, but this game hadn't been going in her favor since the moment Mason had walked his ass into the Grill. She groaned in frustration when she once again flubbed the shot.

"Geesh, get your head in the game, Bon," Caroline suggested. Bonnie merely rolled her eyes and decided she really didn't give a crap about this game. Taking a few steps away from the table as Caroline readied to go next, Bonnie pulled out her phone and started typing out a text to Mason. He'd given it to her at the Lockwood house when they were setting up for the masquerade party, telling her to just text him if she needed him for some heavy lifting after Mrs. Lockwood had called him away from assisting Bonnie to help with another task. She hadn't ended up needing to text him for anything then, but she was going to now.

 _If you have regrets about what happened between us last night, you could at least have the balls to come to me like a man and let me know. I expected more from you._ Send.

The moment Bonnie hit send Mason came out of the bathroom. She watched him take out his phone and read the message, then for the first time all night, he lifted his light green eyes and locked them on hers. She waited with bated breath. Was he going to man up, summon her to come talk to him, or walk over here himself?

Turns out it was neither. He gave her a hard look, a very hard look, then turned and walked out the door. Without a second thought, Bonnie followed. By the time she stepped outside he was halfway across the street, heading toward his parked car. She was hot on his heels, when he suddenly whirled around, bringing her to an abrupt halt.

"I don't care if this is the last time I ever talk to you in life but I want an answer," she started in immediately, not allowing him a chance to speak first. "Are you running because you're just not that into me or are you running because you're a coward, Mason Lockwood?"

"I'm not a coward," he hissed through gritted teeth, a contained anger seeming to radiate off of him. This pissed Bonnie off more. The nerve of him to be upset, she was the one that deserved to be in her feelings.

"So, are you usually in the habit of sending false signals and leading girls on because I don't go around just kissing anybody...ever," Bonnie put emphasis on the last word. Mason quickly looked around, searching for anyone nearby who could have overheard her, then he grasped her arm.

"Come here," he huffed, leading her behind the lining of parked cars.

"I can walk myself, thank you," she snapped, snatching her arm out of his grip. He rolled his eyes but didn't argue as they stepped behind a very large tree that would complete obscure Bonnie's small frame from view.

"To answer your question, no, I'm not in the habit and I didn't lead you on!" He argued, his voice husky. "It's just..." He seemed to struggle to find the words. "I don't go around kissing my nephew's friends."

"So, yesterday I was Bonnie and today I'm just your nephew's friend?" Bonnie quipped.

Mason exhaled deeply. "Look, you're gorgeous," he stated in a softer tone. "You have a beautiful personality, you're smarter than most women my age, you're feisty...you're literally everything I want in a woman but...you're too young, Bonnie."

Bonnie's face scrunched. "That's bullshit," She snapped. "I'm not some immature little girl, I'm an adult! Are you concerned about what people will think? Don't be, this is Mystic Falls. Damon dated Caroline for months and no one blinked twice. My father was twelve years older than my mother when they got together!"

"I'm just not used to it, okay?!" He cried. "I want to tell you to back off, I want to tell you this is it, but when I look at you I can't get the damn words out of my mouth."

"You don't have to," Bonnie said, angrily. "I will not have my time wasted again, especially by a grown man who can't figure out what the hell he wants." She turned on her heel to storm away when he grabbed her hand and yanked her back toward him before pressing his lips to hers.

It took Bonnie by surprise but she didn't fight it, she welcomed it. This kiss was not like the one by the pond, it was much more heated, it was deeper. When Mason finally pulled away they were both breathless from the intensity, his hands still firmly holding the sides of her face as he looked into her sparkling, viridescent eyes.

"Why do you make this so goddamn hard?" He asked gruffly.

"I could ask you the same thing," She nearly whispered, then they were kissing again. Chills went through Bonnie's entire body as she engaged in one of the most passionate kisses of her life. Her heart was racing so fast, she was almost scared. Was it normal to feel what she was feeling right now for someone she'd known for such a short time?

They didn't come up for air until Mason's phone started ringing. He slowly broke the kiss then released her. He checked who was calling then hit ignore. "It's my sister-in-law," he explained. "I can talk to her later." He stepped toward Bonnie when again his cell phone went off with a text notification. He huffed then checked it again. "Shit, I have to go, she said she needs me," he said with a regretful shake of the head. "She's been drinking a lot more lately and I've been trying to help her keep it together."

"I understand," Bonnie said.

Mason studied her for a moment then reached out and gently wiped the side of her mouth with the pad of his thumb. "You're lipstick was smudged," he told her.

She smiled and gestured toward her mouth. "You have most of it right here," she said, then stepped toward him and reached her hand out. "Let me." And she gently wiped her lipgloss off his mouth. "There, perfect." She stepped back again.

"You're perfect," he said, his gaze never once having left her. "I'll see you around, Bonnie." And he started to head toward his car.

"Should I expect you to go back to ignoring me?" She asked, making him stop in his tracks. He paused for a moment before looking back at her.

"No, he stated firmly. "You make it fucking impossible."

Bonnie waited until his back was turned before she let a grin break out on her face. Mason pulled off and she fixed her lipgloss before returning inside to her friends. When questioned on her whereabouts for the past twelve minutes she lied and said she had to make a call, then left it at that, She was in a much better mood the rest of the night.

It was funny how the past month had been just another typical summer for her. Then, over the course of just one weekend, this summer had gotten much more interesting. It would be one she'd never forget.


End file.
